After the Twilight Fades
by Lord PotterXXVII
Summary: After Midna leaves the world of light, Zelda gives Link a new task to fulfil, one that will change his destiny and that of the entire nation forever. Chapter 9 is up at last, epilougue to follow
1. Chapter 1

-1After the Twilight Fades

_Authors note: Here it is at last, the beginning of my vision of the aftermath of Twilight Princess, again as was the case with the Missing Link, Nintendo owns all names and places except the ones I make up for the purposes of the story and I'm not doing this to make money. This story will be set immediately after the end of TP, and while it will use some ideas from The Missing Link, it is not a sequel. This is definitely a Zelink, but I like Illia, so I'm not going to do the whole jealous Illia routine, as I think it's been done to death, and I think she sees Link as more a surrogate brother rather than a boyfriend as they grew up together and were close their whole lives._

Chapter 1: The Long March

As the glittering shards of the mirror of twilight faded, Link could not help but feel sad as he gazed up at the black granite slab that Midna had just disappeared into mere moments ago. As he stood there, memories from his adventure flooded into his mind and a single tear fell from his eyes as he thought of all that had occurred fighting by the side of the Twilight Princess. Link felt a warm hand rest on his shoulder and remembered he was not alone on the stone platform and turned to face Zelda, the mysterious Princess he had met only twice before and he only just managed to save from the clutches of the Dark Lord Ganondorf himself. Zelda had a sympathetic look on her pretty face and said to him, " It's ok to show emotion Link, you shared a strong bond with her and I can understand how you feel, but she could not linger here as she had to return to her own people. What was it like to travel with her?"

Link looked at the beautiful young woman before him and begun to speak, "Your Majesty, at first I couldn't stand Midna, when she sprung me from the prison she was the most annoying creature I had ever met. But the more we travelled, the more we fought against the darkness, with every monster slain, the nicer Midna became. By the time we recovered the master sword and came to the desert looking for the mirror, we had become quite close. In a lot of ways, she was like a sister to me."

Zelda squeezed his shoulder in a comforting manner and said, "at first she didn't care about this world but came to love it in a way, and she only thought of you as a means to an end at first. That was why she was so cold, you changed her though as two people walking the same path will always change to work together, you couldn't have done all you have without her."

Link smiled at the kindly Princess and said, "we had better get moving Your Majesty, you have a kingdom to rule, but since we don't have Midna here, we'll have to take the long way out."

Zelda took her hand away and said to Link, "we have a long way to go to restore the kingdom, and I don't think I can do it alone, the entire royal council as well as my father were killed in the first attack."

Link gasped in shock and said, "goddesses help us, that's awful, may they rest in peace. But destiny runs its course, as heir to the throne your duty is to the people Your Majesty, I don't know how much help I could be, but I'll do what I can."

Zelda smiled at him and replied, "these lands will need a protector, my duty is indeed to my people. But you are a man of vision, that the people will need to look to for leadership and reassurance."

Link shrugged and said, "but Your Majesty, I'm just a goatherd from a small village I'm no leader, what could I possibly do that you can't?"

Zelda smiled and said, "you're stronger than you know Link, and those who do not desire power often find that they have a gift at wielding it. That sword you carry is proof, only the pure of heart can wield it. That is all the proof I need of your sincerity, now as my first act in the new age of this land I will grant you a new title, on your knees Link."

Link felt strange as he did not know what Zelda has planning but knelt down onto the stone of the platform and watched as Zelda drew her sword, and felt uneasy. Zelda tapped his shoulders with the flat of the blade and said, "I dub thee, Lord Lanaryu, Lord Protector of Hyrule and Duke of Lanaryu province, arise a Lord and take on your new task."

Link got up nervously and said, "I'll do my best Your Majesty."

Zelda held up a finger as he spoke and said, "forget my title, I'm not Queen yet and, you have more than earned the right to address me by my first name, now lead on."

Link felt shocked but beckoned to Zelda and led the way down the stairs and into the deep gloom of the arbiters grounds, looking carefully for any sign of monsters. Coming to a halt on the platform in the room where he fought the giant skeleton he looked for a way across. Spotting metal bars in the ceiling he beckoned Zelda closer and said, "getting over this gap is not going to be easy, do you trust me Zelda?"

Zelda smiled and said, "of course I do Link, you have fought valiantly for me for a long time, and you never once complained or faltered, I'd trust you with my life, do what you must my hero."

Link strapped his clawshots to his arms and said, "hold onto me Zelda and hold on tight,"

Zelda blushed a pale shade of pink and threw her arms around him and held tight, and Link turned red as he noticed that the Princess was a very healthy young woman, but shot a claw out where it stuck on a bar in the ceiling, he heard Zelda gasp slightly as they rose into the air but after a few more grapples he lowered them down gently next to the door. Opening it, he led the way out and got the spinner out to get them down, Zelda looked apprehensive but held on tightly as they went down the stairs. Leading the way through the gloomy halls of the ancient prison, nostrils full of the stench of old tombs he was grateful to not meet any monsters as he led Zelda out. Making their way through the ruined outbuildings, nothing bothered them apart from the occasional orc, and Link quickly found a riding boar, saddled up and ready to ride, he mounted up and helped Zelda to get on before turning to her and saying, "

hang on tight Zelda, these things can really go fast when they want to."

Zelda smiled and said, "it can't be any worse than a horse."

Link spurred the boar and with the usual grunt it raced forwards Link holding on for dear life as it smashed through the wooden fences and towers, Zelda gripping him tightly around the waist and screaming behind him. Link slowed the boar to a more comfortable pace and began to ride through the desert sands as the sun began to sink in earnest. As he noticed the sunset Link guessed his best option would be to set up camp for the night, so he looked around and managed to find a small cave not far from the cliff, helping Zelda off the boar he said, "we'd better stop for now, it's getting dark and we'll need to be fresh to get down the cliff into the lake."

Zelda smiled at him and said, "you really are quite practical Link, you're exactly what the people need in these times, a man of grand potential not blinded by the trappings of noble birth."

Link blushed slightly at Zelda's praise and was glad it was dark, but busied himself getting a fire going and cooking up some soup, feeling lucky that he knew a few simple recipes and carried some food with him, Zelda was impressed with his cooking, and after they'd finished eating Link and Zelda fell asleep quickly as it had been a long hard day. The next morning Link and Zelda woke up and quickly made it to the edge of the cliff. Link looked around and saw the remains of a narrow path down, but rockslides had made it impassable so Link quickly got his bow out and prepared some bomb arrows. Stepping back from the cliff edge, he lit the fuses and fired at the blockages, the bombs struck their mark and loosened the blockages, sending a wave of loose rock into the lake below. Beckoning Zelda close, Link gingerly made his way down the path, it was narrow, forcing him to hug the rock face at times, but after a few minutes he managed to get to the cliff base next to the old watch tower. Zelda stopped next to him and brushed some dirt off her dress before saying to him,

we'd better get moving Link, I will warp us to the cliff top on the other side, here take my arm."

Link took hold of Zelda's proffered arm and gripped it tight before the young Princess closed her eyes and turned on her heels, and with a flash of gold light and a brief feeling of constriction the pair found themselves at the cliff top in Hyrule field. Link quickly pulled out his horse charm and called for Epona, the brown and white mare, appearing at his side in an instant. Link patted her head fondly and helped Zelda to get on before mounting up and urging Epona forwards. They swept the miles beneath them and soon came to the castle town, which looked very strange without the castle overlooking it, Link turned to Zelda and said,

"the castle's completely gone, I hope the explosion didn't hurt anybody or do much damage, Whatever Ganondorf did it certainly packed a wallop, look there's bit's of stone everywhere."

Link could see loose rubble all over the field and a thin plume of smoke still rising from the ruins of the castle and felt grateful nobody was inside at the time, however he also felt slightly sad as what little he saw of the castle was quite amazing compared to the simple buildings in Ordon village, Zelda sighed at the sight and said to Link.

"for centuries that castle was there, it's been built and rebuilt over time, and now it must be rebuilt again, but like our nation it will rise again, onwards Link, we must face the people."

Link felt nervous, as it would be his first time in the town since the defeat of Ganondorf, and he was already a well known face. But he nudged Epona with his heels and urged her over the drawbridge and into the west gate.

Link gazed around as he rode into town and saw men, women and children stop in their tracks ans stare at him and Zelda in silence. Whispers broke out among the populace as he rode and as he reached the town square someone began to clap, slowly like an awakening giant the clapping and cheering began to intensify to the point of hurting their ears as the crowd saw their beloved Princess with their own eyes. Zelda gazed at the crowd, held her hands up to silence them and began to speak.

"My people, I come to you under the gravest of circumstances, while the Dark Lord has been defeated, the terrible suffering he caused must still be resolved. Let us together rebuild our homes and way of life and move forward to a new age of peace and justice. I wish only to serve you, my people by leading Hyrule to a better future for all, by ruling wisely and doing the best I can to be a better ruler than father. I shall not do so alone however, for I have appointed Link, the gallant hero who fought against the darkness and defeated the dark lord to be the new Lord Protector of this realm. I ask all of you, to respect his position and to lend your support to his work in restoring our beloved Hyrule to it's former glory, may the goddesses bless you all and may all our honoured dead rest in peace."

The crowd gasped and gazed at Link with looks of surprise and then started cheering at the Princesses words, Link waved at the crowd feeling slightly nervous at all the attention and said to them,

"as Lord Protector, I promise to lead wisely at the side of our Princess Zelda, and do my utmost to bring peace and justice to all corners of our land. But alone, I cannot do it, which is why I am asking for volunteers to join our army and watch and our efforts of reconstruction so that we can rebuild our world and share in the days of peace."

The crowd cheered again as Link finished speaking and began to break up, Telma came up to him and said, "well done Link, well done. You've done a good job, and I'm sure you'll make a great leader, Lord protector is a special job, and quite a rare honour. I'm calling a meeting of members of the resistance for tomorrow night, perhaps you and Her Highness would consent to come, it'll be at my bar at 7:00pm."

Link turned to Zelda who nodded at him before he turned back to Telma and said, "of course we'll come Telma, I'm going to need the cooperation of the resistance and any local militia's that were formed in order to keep the peace and restore order to the country."

Telma smiled saucily at him and said, "I'll see you later handsome."

Telma turned and went away, before Zelda turned to him and said, "who was that, and what did she mean about the resistance?"

Link smiled and said, "That was Telma, the local pub owner, one of my earliest adventures was to try and find all the missing people from my village, one of them, Illia, an old friend of mine had ended up working for Telma. Telma asked me to escort her and Illia to Krakariko village because there were field monsters everywhere, as well as that big orc leader, and once I'd done that she invited me to join the resistance, which uses her tavern as headquarters. The resistance are a group of people trying to stand against the darkness, they helped me in my efforts by giving me a lot of useful information and when I finally raided the castle, they came as well and drew off some of the monsters in the grounds."

Zelda smiled and said, "they sound like good people, now we'd better make a start and muster our remaining troops."

Link got off Epona and helped Zelda get down before calling over some of the soldiers in the square and saying to one of them, "is this all of you? Where are your officers?"

The soldier Link had addressed, who had sergeants stripes looked grimly at him and said, "most of our best fighters were killed in the initial attack of the dark creatures. It was terrible, they came at us in waves, like a black ocean, just when we'd kill one of them, three more would take its place. The fighting went on all day, and by the time it was over most of the army had been wiped out and the castle was on fire, we've got other regiments in other parts of the country but it'll take time to call them back. We've got around 500 men here but that's about it. But what's really bad is that the royal armoury would have gone up in the explosion."

Link winced but turned to the sergeant and said, "we'll have to recruit heavily, it'll take time but we can do it. 500 men should be able to hold the city for now, I'll have to promote the few experienced troops we have and get them to train new recruits. Tell the senior personnel in the town that I want them at a meeting tomorrow at 7:00pm at Telma's bar."

The sergeant nodded and said, "as Your Grace pleases, if I might be so bold, it'd be a good idea for you to get Her Highness out of the city, if we get attacked it'd be better if she were in a safe place."

Link nodded and walked over to Zelda who was talking to the mayor and said, "we'd better get you out of town Zelda, since the castle is destroyed it'd be a good idea if you were somewhere safer and less exposed than here."

Zelda looked reluctant but agreed to be moved, and so Link got her onto Epona before getting on himself and moving out the east gate before galloping to Kakariko village, it looked the same as always, slightly war damaged and with few native inhabitants left, but when Link stopped and got off Epona, he saw the Ordon village children come up to him while Zelda stood a few paces away with a small smile on her face. Beth and Talo were the first to speak, asking questions about the magical storm, but after they had been answered, Link was being bombarded with questions about Zelda. Beth turned to him and said, "have you kissed her yet Link?"

Link blushed scarlet and Illia said to Beth, "give them time Beth, they've only just met each other."

With that, the line of questioning stopped and Link was able to lead Zelda to Romano's sanctuary, the shaman delighted to receive the Princess, and offering the local inn as a safe house. After speaking with Romano for a few hours Link led Zelda to the inn, where a hot meal was waiting for them, they ate with the others and spoke about some of their ideas for rebuilding, most of which were received with good opinions. But eventually everyone began to tire and drift off to bed, Link followed Zelda up the stairs as he had been assigned the room next to her and said,

"good night Zelda, we've got a long day tomorrow, if you need me for any reason, I'm just next door okay."

Zelda smiled at him and stepped forward, giving him a soft hug for a few moments before drawing away and saying, "you were so sweet to those children today, I can see why they look up to you. You are the perfect man to assist me in rebuilding our land, my hero. Sleep well Link."

With that, the young Princess retreated into her own room, Link staring at the closed door for a moment before walking into his own room and getting undressed before hopping into bed, his last thoughts before he slept being of the pretty young Princess sleeping only a few metres away and how much she had changed his world in such a short time. Link slept soundly, dreaming of his adventures with Midna and good times back in Ordon, when he was suddenly jerked awake by a scream. Link jumped out of bed and seized his sword and shield and raced to Zelda's door as he heard her scream again. Link shoulder barged the door, breaking the cheap wood of its hinges and ran into the room, sword raised, only to find no enemy trying to assassinate the Princess, but the sight of the heir to the throne clearly in the grip of a terrible nightmare. Link sighed and dropped his sword and shield and approached the bed, before gently shaking the slumbering Princess until he saw her eyes flutter open, cold sweat running down her face. Link spoke gently to her and said,

"are you alright Zelda? I heard your voice and thought you were being attacked."

Zelda shuddered and tears began to pour down her face before she said, "I… I saw them, saw them, the.. the black beasts att.. attacking the castle, I saw my fathers army cut down like wheat, then my father and the council tortured. Father told me to run for the throne room, my last sight of him being those awful beasts closing on him."

She broke down sobbing, so Link sighed and knelt down and pulled Zelda to him and rubbed her back, feeling her nightdress soaked to the skin in sweat and he spoke soothingly, "there dead, Zant and Ganondorf are both dead now. I have avenged the deaths of the fallen, and if you hadn't run, the beats would have killed you too. I know it's hard but you have to be strong for the people now, they need us. There'll be a time to mourn the dead."

Zelda nodded against his bare chest and Link held her until he felt her begin to calm down before lifting her chin so that she was facing him and saying. " we've got a lot to do together, but we will ensure that those who died didn't die in vain. We'll make them proud Zelda, now lets get you cleaned up."

He stepped away as Zelda got up and tried not to look until she had put a robe on, Romano was waiting in the hall and Link led Zelda out and said, "she's ok, just a nightmare. I won't repeat what it was about, poor thing, she's carrying such a heavy burden."

Romano smiled sadly at the two of them before his daughter appeared and led Zelda away for a bath and flesh clothes, Link found his own bathrobe and slippers that he'd been given and waited, and after a short time Zelda came out in a fresh nightdress looking much calmer before walking over to him, pulling him close and saying, "thank you Link, you continually prove just how good a man you are, I don't think I've ever met anybody like you before."

Link smiled and said, "I just did what had to be done, it looked terrible seeing you in pain like that, I couldn't stand it."

Zelda smiled, but then blushed pinkly as she looked at Link, Link was unsure as to why until he remembered he only had his robe and underwear on and turned bright red as he saw Zelda giggle slightly."

Zelda then whispered into his ear, "being a goatherd didn't do you any harm Link, I must say I'm impressed."

Link felt surprised but quickly responded in kind, "certainly, I'm no worse than most Lords."

Zelda giggled again but then turned serious and said, "can you stay with me tonight? I felt awful before and would feel a lot safer."

Link couldn't believe his ears, after only two days he was being asked to stay with Zelda all night, he nodded and said, "okay, I don't want to see you suffer like that again Zelda."

With that Zelda led the way inside and got into bed, Link shrugged his robe off and felt Zelda's eyes on his bare chest as he got into bed as well before wrapping an arm around Zelda's waist and swiftly falling asleep, only peaceful dreams came to the young Princess for the rest of the night.


	2. Chapter 2

-1After the Twilight Fades

_Authors note: I'm glad the few initial reviews were positive, but please, I need more. More reviews mean that I can improve the story. I know what I want to put in, but you saying what's good and what isn't helps improve the general quality of the story and gives me ideas. If you're screaming for blood, don't worry there'll be plenty in this story, and if you want more Zelink, you'll get your fix soon enough . Any good Zelda fic like any good Zelda game should have a balance of background, blood, comradeship, adventure and romance. If anybody recognises names form other games, they aren't crossovers, I'm just using the names. Lastly, sorry about the mix up with Renado's name, but I couldn't remember it until I checked the game again._

Chapter 2: The Beginning of the New Task

Link awoke early the next morning feeling warmer and more well rested than he'd ever remembered feeling before. After weeks of camping in the wilds and sleeping wherever he could find shelter, a big warm feather bed felt like paradise to him. But at that moment he felt movement beside him, and gazed down at the most beautiful sight he'd ever beheld. Zelda was asleep beside him, her long hair fanned behind her and one arm holding Link close, Zelda's slow breathing stirring very unfamiliar urges in the young man. Link could hardly believe his eyes as he beheld the beautiful woman lying beside him. But then his brain reminded him why he was sharing a bed with the young Princess and he sighed remembering Zelda's nightmare and wished he could take away the pain she felt at the loss of her father. But he knew that he could only do so much for her. He gazed down at her, thinking how much he had changed since he had first laid eyes on her as a wolf, how she looked so mysterious and dangerous when he saw her, hooded and cloaked in the gloomy tower where she was being help prisoner, how he'd growled at her thinking she was an enemy. How long he stayed there, simply gazing at her lost in thought, he didn't know, but eventually she began to stir, and looked up at him, Link gazed down with a look of concern on his face and said.

"Morning Zelda, are you feeling any better? I really wish I could do more for you, but I can only do so much."

Zelda smiled at him and said, "I feel much better, you constantly show just how noble you are, the only thing that can truly heal the nightmares is time, but your presence is soothing so don't worry about me."

Link smiled at her and got out of bed before saying, "I'll just go and freshen up, we've got a lot to do today Zelda, we'd better get to it. But if you ever need to talk about the burden that plagues you, you know where I am."

Zelda smiled even more and said, "I know, and I'll always be grateful for that, and the same goes for you too, I know Midna's legacy troubles you."

Link nodded and left the room before going into his where a bath had been drawn and fresh clothes and toiletries had been laid beside it, after scrubbing himself clean, he cleaned his teeth and dressed in the fresh clothes, which were in a much more stylish fashion than he was used to. The ensemble consisted of underwear, dark boots and dark breeches, a white tunic and a blue cloak. He looked at himself in a mirror and thought he looked ridiculous, but shrugged and left the room to head down to breakfast. Zelda came down a few minutes later nodding approvingly as she looked him up and down. Renado spoke to Link and said,

"I hope you don't mind the clothes, we thought you ought to have some that suited your new job, they belonged to the mayor of this town."

Link shrugged and said, "they fit me alright, but they're a bit flamboyant for my taste, but I guess it comes with the job. Thanks for the trouble, there quite comfortable."

Zelda finished eating earlier than the others and went outside with Illia and Luda, while Colin and the other Ordonians as well as Renado were still inside, Colin spoke up and said ,

"what was all that screaming I heard last night about, was something attacking the Princess?"

Renado looked sadly at him and said, "yes Colin, but it wasn't a physical enemy, I'm afraid she is haunted by her memories of the attacks, and she carries a heavy burden indeed, finding peace again will be hard for her."

The children all gasped and Talo said, "can't you do anything for her Link, you seem to be able to sort out most problems."

Link shrugged and replied, "I can't do everything, I can only protect her, I can't heal her mind, I wish I could, but I can't."

Renado looked at him sympathetically and said, "just being there for her is the best you can do, give her your support and be there when she needs someone to care for her, you and Zelda have become close, that much is clear."

Link nodded determinedly and hoped he could be what Zelda was wanting him to be.

Meanwhile, Zelda, Illia and Luda were outside away from the others talking about recent events, when conversation turned to Link, Zelda faced Illia and said,

"has Link always been the way he is now? What was he like in Ordon?"

Illia looked at Zelda, surprised at the topic before responding, "ever since he was little, Link has always been strong in so many ways. Everyone in the district looks up to him, the boys all want to be him and the girls all want to be with him. But I've always had a feeling that he was destined for far more than the life of a farmer."

Luda nodded and added in, "I know what you mean, he seems so much different to the others from your town, I know their younger, but he has an aura of strength and selflessness, as well as a uncommonly kind heart, which make him unique. Who were his parents?"

Illia responded, "I'm not sure, I know he's an orphan but I don't remember exactly how he ended up in Ordon, I think I remember dad telling me once that Link's family fled a war in a neighbouring country but were attacked and badly wounded while they were escaping. apparently they made it to the village and gave Link to my father before they died, the whole village helped raise him, and he grew to be the strongest and bravest man in the area."

Zelda smiled and said, "that makes a degree of sense, but the only plausible war in the timeline would have been the dark wars in Albion. I remember reading about them, there was a civil war in Albion, which was the neighbouring country to the east that ended about 16 years ago. It had raged on for years, no faction gaining ground for long, and when it had finally ended it had decimated the once noble nation, and when it ended the orcs came. Tens of thousands of them poured in like a green tide sweeping all before them, few if any managed to flee from them and the orcs only halted their bloodlust when father defeated their army in a battle on our south eastern border."

The other two winced, before Illia smirked slightly at Zelda and said, "you like him Zelda, don't you?"

Zelda blushed slightly pink and said, "yes, but I don't think he'll make a move because he's too noble, and probably thinks I'm off limits. Do you like him Illia?"

Illia smiled slightly and said, "yes, but not like that, I've known Link my whole life, and he's always been like an older brother to me, and I think he's always felt the same way about me, I think you deserve him Zelda, after all you've gone through."

Luda added in, "Illia's right, you've both gone through so much, you deserve each other and all the happiness in the world, but how do we overcome Link's silly noble streak."

Illia thought for a second and said, "I know, it's the Ordon harvest festival fairly soon, in Ordon, it's always held at the beginning of the harvest, and traditionally most of the courting in the province happens there, as all the villagers and farmers in the area come to our village. Why don't you come to it this year Zelda, you're sure to get an opportunity to get him alone."

Zelda smiled and said, "that sounds like a good idea, we'd better go back in before the boys wonder where we went."

The others agreed and all three of them walked back into the inn, to find Link and the other villagers sitting around and talking, Zelda sat next to Link, before leaning closer and saying to him,

"we'd better get moving Link, I want to start giving orders to the craftsmen so we can get our castle rebuilt and general reconstruction moving in the war damaged areas."

Link smiled at her and said, "no problem, lets go."

Link got up and led Zelda outside after bidding the others goodbye, before helping her onto Epona and mounting up himself. Setting off, they made their way across the plains and over the east bridge before entering Hyrule castle town.

They dismounted and left Epona in one of the livery stables near the gate before making their way to the mayors house, which was on the west side of the town square, walking into the mayors office they found the mayor with a group of men Link hadn't seen before but gave off the appearance of craftsmen. The mayor, a slightly round middle aged man with black hair going slightly grey, bowed upon seeing Link and Zelda as did the others before addressing them.

"Your Highness, and Your Grace, good morning, your right on time. These are Mr Groat and Mr Hawkins of the artisans and masons guild."

Both of the men nodded at the introduction before the mayor continued to speak, "you will both be pleased to hear that the explosion wasn't as bad as we first thought. The castle foundations and basement levels are still mostly intact. This should cut construction time for a new castle by a substantial amount."

Zelda smiled at the news and said, "how soon could construction begin? I do not like being so far away from my people, though I know I have to stay elsewhere for security."

Mr Groat cleared his throat and checked some papers had had on the table and said, "we'll need to clear the loose rubble out and do some excavation to place new support structures, and that will take time as I only have so many men, building materials are also a problem as I only have so much stone available."

Link spoke up and said, "I've got a decent size garrison here, more than I need to keep the peace, perhaps I could lend you some of my soldiers on a rotational basis, as long as we keep enough on duty to maintain order and to respond to any local threats."

Groat looked at him and said, "that could work, they could work on clearing out the rubble and digging new footings, freeing up my men for the more specialised tasks. If you could spare about 150 men per shift Your Grace, that would be ample."

Mr Hawkins then added in, "we'll need stone, lots of stone, not just for the new castle, but also for the bridges and villages that were damaged. The only sufficient source nearby would be Death mountain, I'll need to negotiate a contract with the Gorons, but they only listen to people they know."

Zelda looked at link with pride shining in her eyes and said, "Link bested a Goron elder in a sumo match, and saved their chief from a curse. I think he could solve this problem."

Mr Hawkins looked at Link with awe on his face before Link shrugged and replied,

"I wasn't the first to best a Goron, but I could set up a meeting easily enough, would tomorrow be too soon?"

Mr Hawkins replied, "no Your Grace, tomorrow should be okay."

Link then spoke to the room at large, "I'll go find the senior personnel from the town garrison and get the first group of men to report to you as soon as we're done here."

The other occupants of the room nodded their ascent and the Mayor spoke up, "I believe that is all for now, now lets eat and then get to work, we shall reconvene in a week's time."

Food was brought in and after lunch the meeting broke up, and Link quickly tracked down the same sergeant, he'd spoken to and repeated the outcome of the meeting to him, he was happy to pass the orders along, and soon a large squad of men were seen marching to the castle ruins alongside a group of craftsmen. Link and Zelda followed them and watched as groups of men swarmed over the ruins and set up tents and unloaded tools and equipment. Zelda left on a personal errand leaving Link at the site. walking around slowly he could tell rebuilding the castle was going to take a long time, lost in thought, he saw a pale figure walk amongst the men and catch his eye for a second before disappearing into the ground. A shout drew his attention to a group of men working near the entrance to a staircase leading down, we walked over and said, "what's going on here then?"

One of the soldiers working nearby said, "Your Grace, I think we just saw something moving about down there, looked like a skeleton."

Link sighed, and remembered how the grounds were teeming with undead before the explosion and said to the nearby soldiers, "keep your weapons nearby lads, I'll gear up and go down there and see what it is, if you see anything come out of that staircase that isn't friendly, stop it at all costs."

The soldier he'd addressed saluted and said, "Yes Your Grace."

So Link wandered into one of the nearby tents and changed into his green garb before checking his weapons and equipment and filling his lantern.

Walking back to the stairs, he followed them down into a gloomy series of corridors lit by only the occasional torch. Following the halls he came to a very large door that had been blown off its hinges, pushing it out of the way he went into the room to find wall to wall chests. But what he also noticed was the light of his lantern reflecting on the glint of gold, there were several piles of gold bars in the room and when he opened a chest he found it full of silver and orange rupees. Link was amazed but guessed he had found the royal treasury and went back into the hall. Following it further he found another room that was full of sacks of grain and other dried foods, it all looked edible so he quickly left. Turning left into another hall he found a wall with a large crack in it, through which he could see a staircase. Checking the condition of the nearby wall, he could tell the section with the crack was newer and much weaker than the surrounding walls and ceiling. Deciding to investigate further, he pulled out a bomb and lit it, placing it in front of the crack and retreating to a safe distance. When the fuse burned down there was a loud bang, and when the smoke cleared the weak section of wall was gone, revealing a staircase down. Following it, Link realised the section of basement the blast revealed had been abandoned long ago, as it was full of cobwebs, large spiders and the occasional skeleton. These enemies were nothing to Link, having fought many of them in the past. Hacking his way through them he found a large room with the appearance of a chapel, with large statues holding large swords lining the walls. However when he stepped inside a portcullis dropped into place behind him. Link looked around and spotted an enormous spider on the ceiling. He sighed and drew his bow, nocking an arrow and waiting until he saw the eye on the spiders back before letting fly, knocking the giant arachnid off the ceiling. Quickly using the dominion rod, Link activated a statue and swung the stone sword it held. The blade struck the spider, splitting it in two from the force of the blow, killing it instantly and sending a wave of blood and innards all over the room, some of it splashing Link. Releasing the statue, Link wiped as much spider innards off himself as he could before walking around the room. He approached a raised dias upon which sat a pair of stone sarcophaguses, the statue lying on top of one showed an armoured man holding a sword and the other showed a tall woman with long hair who bore a slight resemblance to Zelda. As he looked closer a familiar gold wolf appeared before it howled and changed into an armoured skeleton. It looked at Link and said,

"my heir, you have become much stronger than I ever could have imagined and you have been chosen to take on my old mantle of Lord Protector. Long ago, like you I was forced to take up arms to defend this country, and soon afterwards I was given the role of Lord Protector, I took the challenge and was able to bring peace to Hyrule. But now your time has come to do the same. Take the fragment of the mosaic and place it in the picture on the far wall to open the vault and take up my sword and shield. You will need them, the sword was forged for those who were chosen to become Lord Protector. When you take up this sword, return the master sword to the temple of time at your next opportunity. Now go forth, lead wisely and give Zelda all the companionship and support she needs."

Link nodded and said, "I will,"

With that the shade of the old warrior disappeared leaving a glowing triangular fragment in his place, Link picked it up and walked to the far wall, where he found a mosaic of the royal crest of Hyrule. Spotting a missing piece, the triforce of courage, Link slid the fragment into place and watched as a hidden door swung open, following it into another room Link saw a magnificent sword embedded in a stone, the stone carried an engraving reading:

_Only one who intends to draw this blade in the name of peace may wield it_

Link stepped up and drew it easily, noticing that it seemed to give off a faint white glow. Link examined the sword carefully and realised he had never seen a sword like it. It had a golden winged hilt , similar in design to the master sword with three gems set into it, a ruby, a sapphire and an emerald. The blade itself seemed to be made of a type of white crystal and had runes engraved on it along one side and a message on the other reading.

_When darkness fills the land, one shall rise to meet it. In Hyrule was I forged to fit the hand of he who is destined to bring peace to the land._

Link found it's sheath and stowed the blade before strapping it to himself. On the wall behind the stone, a shield rested, it too was a beautiful piece of work, and looked just like a Hylian shield, except for an embedded emerald in the middle and a surface that gleamed in the dull light of Links lantern. Link swapped it for his shield and left the room making his way past the dead spider and out through the re opened portcullis and back up through the gloomy corridors until he found his way back up to the surface. The soldier who reported the monster sighting came up to him and said,

"there you are Your Grace, we were wondering where you'd got too, urrghh, what is that stuff? It reeks."

Link shrugged and said, " giant spider innards, there was an arghoma down in there, and killing it was a bit messy. There's a huge network of halls and rooms under the main basement level and who knows what's in there. I'll have to go back down and clear it out before anything escapes."

The soldier flinched slightly but said, "as Your Grace pleases, if I may be permitted to say so, you might want to clean that crap off yourself before you see Her Highness."

Link grinned and walked off to get cleaned up, and changed back into his new clothes. Leaving the construction site, he found Zelda and together they made their way to Telma's bar. Telma was waiting behind her counter as usual, and smiled as they walked in saying, "Link, Your Highness, welcome, the others are all here, so please step this way."

Telma led the way into the back room, where the other members of the resistance, and a small group of soldiers were waiting. Zelda and Link sat down and greeted the others before Zelda began to speak,

"The time of our rebuilding has come, thanks to the efforts of all of you, we are now free from the mad schemes of Ganondorf. Though his legacy is a war ravaged Hyrule which we must work together to rebuild , so we can lead our people to a new era of peace and justice. All of you have skills in different areas that will be vital to rebuild our nation, so let us begin to consider what must be done."

Ashei was the first to speak up and said, "we must rebuild our army, and quickly. Many of you will remember the end of the Albionian civil war, orcs poured on to the survivors like a wave and slaughtered most of them, pillaging and burning what little remained from the war. If we are not careful we may suffer a similar fate."

Everyone shuddered at the thought, before one of the soldiers said, "most of our weapons got destroyed in the explosion, we'll need to get more to arm any new recruits."

Link thought for a second and said, "I know where there's heaps of weapons and armour, when I searched for the mirror of twilight. I travelled to an old fortified manor house high up on snow peak mountain. There was enough weapons and armour for an entire legion, and the yeti's that inhabit the building are friendly and don't use weapons, we'll just need to go get them."

Shad spoke and said, "I think I know of it, centuries ago snow peak was a lot warmer and there was a mountain pass into Frostholme, the land of the dwarves. The king of the time didn't trust them and had a border fort built which he assigned to a trusted Lord, however an earthquake shook the mountain and blocked the pass permanently, over time the winters grew harsher and eventually the fort was abandoned altogether and was lost."

Link replied, "that fits, the place looked very old, but the weapons are perfectly preserved in the ice, swords, spears, armour, even a few cannons."

The soldiers look like children in a candy shop and said, "if we brought those here and mounted them on the walls, we'd be able to stop attackers cold, the technology to build cannons was lost generations ago."

Auru then cut the soldiers off and said, "we'll still need to train the recruits, and what of the other regiments?"

Rusl responded and said, "we could send them to Ordon, I'm not joining the army as I want to get back home to my wife, but I wouldn't mind teaching some of the new recruits how to use a sword. I've taught others before, I actually taught Link some of what he knows, though he clearly had additional instruction."

Link grinned at Rusl and said, "good idea, we've got space in Ordon, and we can get some of the recruits to help out in the town, Fado's bound to need help since I won't be there to help herd the goats. As for my training, I learned from the very best, ancient magic brought forth the spirit of one of my predecessors, who taught me all he knew, which was a lot."

The others gasped, and Zelda said, "Lord Steiner?"

Link shrugged and said, "who's he?"

Shad spoke up and said, "the last Lord Protector of Hyrule, he was around at a time when the land was attacked by a nasty sorcerer, and joined a local militia and he saved the life of one of a Lords daughter. They ended up marrying each other and he was appointed Lord Protector, this was around 1000 years ago. Legend has it that he wielded the power gifted by the gods to the very bravest and that's why he was so strong and able to defeat the sorcerer."

Auru then added, "no one really knows for sure as all the records from the time have long been lost."

Ashei then spoke, "this is all fascinating but now isn't really the best time, we'll need to promote leaders from amongst the soldiers we have here, and get in touch with the other regiments, I'll go to them myself."

Zelda nodded and said, "good, now we just need to promote some of the more experienced soldiers we have and organise recruiting parties and I think we'll have done all we can for now."

Everyone agreed and after determining the levels of experience of the soldiers in the town, several were promoted with the veteran sergeant being given the rank of captain and several corporals being promoted to lieutenant.

After a good dinner provided by Telma, Link and Zelda rode back to Kakariko village, he spoke briefly with the Goron elders and set up a meeting with Mr Hawkins before leading Zelda back to the inn, by the time he got to his room he fell asleep as soon as his head touched the pillow as it had been another hard day.


	3. Chapter 3

-1After the Twilight Fades

_Authors note: I'm happy a lot of people are reading this, but please, take the time and leave a review, it's not hard. All you need to do is click the button at the bottom of the page and type something. I'm also happy my balancing principal was appreciated, it won't always be like that but I think it's a good trick to give chapters with lots of dialogue and background more punch. After this chapter, updates will slow down as I have to go back up to university as my mid semester break is about to finish._

Chapter 3: Of Festivals and new Challenges

Link woke up early the next morning and moved over to the window, looking out over the empty village lost in thought of his duty and the events that had occurred. He thought how only a few days of ending the conflict with Ganondorf and he had found a new career that offered so much more opportunity, and challenges than farming ever had, and thought of how far he still had to go to fulfil his promise to Zelda to lead the nation at her side . Zelda, as he thought of her, he began to realise how she had become so much more than a name sitting in some distant castle. Over the weeks of his adventure and in the few days he'd stood by her side as Lord Protector, he'd begun to realise how much he cared for her. He knew now that she was the most incredible and beautiful woman he had ever known, and wished he had come from a noble upbringing as he knew that eventually they would be forced apart. The very idea of some faceless nobleman marrying her in an arranged union made him shudder, and he knew that the parting would be far worse than losing Midna to the mirror of twilight.

Link freshened himself up before getting dressed and going downstairs, the others all greeted him warmly and he sat down and ate his breakfast lost in thought. Some of the others tried to engage him in conversation and he responded half heartedly as he gazed over at Zelda who was talking to Luda and Renado. After he finished eating Illia came up to him and said,

"Link, can I have a word, outside?"

Link shrugged and followed Illia out of the inn, she took him out of earshot of the building and said, "what's wrong Link? I can tell something's bothering you, and don't try to say nothing, I've known you for years and I can tell from your expression, so out with it."

Link sighed and began to speak, "it's about Zelda, I know she said the whole council were killed, but despite that she is still bound by the traditions of her people. As soon as Hyrule has been restored, I will lose her, probably to some Prince from a neighbouring kingdom, that will be far worse than Midna, and I can't bear the thought."

Illia had a look of sympathy on her face, but quickly replied and said, "I don't think you give yourself enough credit for what you've done Link. There is no way Zelda would do that to you, not now. The people want her to be happy and they will want her to choose someone who she loves to marry. They wouldn't stand for an arranged marriage, so I don't think you need to worry about losing Zelda, you may not have noticed the way she looks at you, but I have. Nobody shares experiences like the ones you and Zelda have without forming a close bond, why else would she have chosen you as Lord Protector? She's already told me she wants to come to the harvest festival, so don't worry about Zelda. Take your place at her side and never let her go, after all you've been through you both deserve your happiness."

Link was speechless, but smiled and led the way back inside before sitting back down, Illia walked over to Zelda and began whispering to her as the group of people in the inn slowly broke up. Link waited until Zelda had finished talking to Illia before leading her to Epona, she was looking at him with an odd gleam on her face as they mounted up and seem to hold him much closer than usual as they rode off, but Link dismissed it as a coincidence as he rode towards castle town. When they got there, Link got off Epona and helped Zelda get down before she said to him,

"Link, I think you've been worrying too much about your work, and you need to relax more. How about when we finish our business today we make arrangements to go to Ordon and stay there until the festival? Illia told me about it and it sounds wonderful, so I'd love to go, I don't think I've ever seen Ordon before."

Link looked at her, slightly surprised and said, "sounds good, we'll be able to get the kids back from Kakariko village, so we'll take a few soldiers from here as security."

Zelda smiled at him and before Link could say anything else, she did something unexpected and leaned forward and kissed his cheek before walking off on personal errands. Link stayed there for a second, his cheek burning, before gathering his wits and walking to the construction site. The workers and soldiers were making good progress clearing out the rubble, so Link went into one of the tents and changed into his green garb and donning his gear before walking to another basement staircase. He called over a few soldiers and said,

"I'm going back in to check for any more nasty surprises, keep your weapons where you can get them quickly and watch out for anything that comes out."

The soldiers saluted before Link went down into the basement levels. Carefully scanning the gloomy halls, Link found no trace of any more large monsters. He did find a few more smaller spiders and skeletons which he quickly exterminated. Going back to the surface he found the foreman and said,

"I've checked every area I can get to down in there, and I think it's clear, you and your men should be safe enough. Just make sure nobody goes anywhere alone and carry weapons in case vermin and small monsters attack. If anybody sees anything worse, let me know."

The foreman nodded and said, "yes Your Grace."

Link changed back into his good clothes and left the site and found Mr Hawkins before taking to him to his meeting with the Gorons, the meeting proceeded without any major hassles and a contract for a steady shipment of stone was soon arranged. Link was pleased at the progress being made and went to look for Rusl, finding him in the back room of Telma's bar, he walked up to him and said,

"Rusl, things seem to be under control here, and security doesn't seem a major problem at the moment, we should organise a wagon and get the kids back to Ordon. What do you think? It's the festival soon."

Rusl smiled and said, "good idea, I want the kids back in Ordon quickly, so does Bo and the others, if we left here now we could get moving today and be there before dark. Get Her Highness and lets go."

Link smiled and nodded before leaving and finding Zelda, who was finishing up a meeting with some of the craftsman's guild leaders and saying,

"Zelda, I've finished everything I wanted to do for today, Rusl thinks we could get a wagon together and get the kids back to Ordon village by sunset today if we left here now. What do you think about that?"

Zelda smiled and said, "good idea Link, but when we get there you're not to run around trying to deal with too much, you need a break Mr. I took the liberty of ordering you some new clothes, and the tailors sent them to Kakariko. I know you aren't a fan of flamboyance, but you should look your best when you return home."

Link made to protest but took one look at Zelda's face and guessed she wasn't budging on this one and said, "ok, you win, now lets get going."

Zelda smiled sweetly at him and together they went to the stables, and after a few minutes Zelda led out a large white horse as Link fetched Epona. Link was astounded and said, "nice horse Zelda, when did you get it?"

Zelda smiled and said, "I've had Arrow for a few years, my father got him for me."

Zelda mounted up gracefully, just as Link got onto Epona and they left the city following Rusl quickly reaching Kakariko village. Link changed into some of the new clothes that were waiting in his room. Link's new garb included new black boots, black breeches, a white tunic with the royal crest of Hyrule in gold embroidery and a new purple riding cloak. Link looked in a mirror and had to admit the clothes looked good on him and felt comfortable. Walking downstairs he met the Ordonians who gasped in shock before Beth said,

"wow, you look amazing, the Princess will be very impressed."

Link chuckled and said, "she ought to be, she's the one who ordered them. I'll look a bit out of place at the festival though."

Colin turned and said, "no way, even under that get up, you're still you. The others will think so too, Mort might be a problem though."

Link rolled his eyes and sighed as he remembered Mort, he was a farmer from a village about a days ride from Ordon who had a habit of getting drunk and causing trouble at the festival. Link replied to Colin and said, "as long as he doesn't repeat what he did last year, he'll be ok. Even Mort wouldn't do anything stupid under the eyes of the watch if he knows I'm in command."

Zelda came down the stairs in a new white and pale pink gown, with a matching riding cloak and Link felt his jaw drop as she looked absolutely gorgeous. Zelda giggled at the expression on his face and said, "flies Link, you look like you've been clubbed over the head."

Link blushed and closed his mouth before he said, "Sorry Zelda, but you look gorgeous in that, I couldn't help it."

Zelda smiled sweetly at him and said, "thanks Link, you look quite handsome yourself, now lets get the children back home."

Link nodded and led the children outside as they were whispering to each other and looking at Link and Zelda, outside a wagon waited as well as a squad of horsemen. One of them trotted up to Link and said , "Your Grace, I'm Lieutenant Webb, the mayor sent me and the others to provide additional security for the journey."

Link and Zelda nodded and Link replied, "good, very good. Once we get to Ordon, we should be ok as the local Sherriff's men police the festival, and I guard Her Highness, plus Rusl will be there. So when we get there I want you and your men to go back to the city and report back to the mayor."

Lieutenant Webb saluted and said, "as you wish Your Grace."

Link, Zelda and Rusl mounted there horses as the children and Illia got in the wagon, and then they were off. Following the roads south few monsters gave trouble and the few that did were mown down by arrows and crossbow bolts from the horsemen and Link, and soon they approached the entrance to Faron woods. The lantern oil salesman was still sitting outside his hut, but got up and touched his forelock as the convoy moved through, and soon enough the convoy entered Ordon village, the horsemen turning around and leaving once the wagon came to a stop. Link watched as the overjoyed villagers ran forward to hug their children, and Link felt a degree of envy as he watched the reunions. Zelda trotted up beside him and laid a hand on his shoulder and squeezed him and a comforting manner to let him know she was there. Link smiled gratefully at her and they got off their horses and walked towards Bo as the mayor of Ordon drew away from Illia. Link and Zelda stopped and then laughed slightly as Bo jumped about a foot in the air in surprise when he saw Link and Zelda, Bo faced Link and said.

"You're back Link, and you've saved the tykes, well done. We'll never forget this, and our whole village owes you our thanks, anything you need, let us know. You picked a good time to get back, the festivals in two days time. You've even brought Princess Zelda with you as well."

Link smiled at Bo as the mayor bowed slightly before addressing Zelda, "Your Highness, it is an honour to have you visit our village in person. We rarely entertain Royal guests but we will do our best to make your stay an enjoyable one. I have a spare room in my house that you can use."

Zelda smiled and said, "thank you mayor, it's an honour to be here, I've always enjoyed travelling to the outlying regions of our country as the people tend to be much more fascinating than the people in the city. You should be very proud of Link, he has done your village and the nation a great service, part of the reason we're here is so that Link can relax. The poor man has been overexerting himself of late."

Link blushed and waved his hands vaguely trying to divert attention when all of a sudden he heard a shout.

"WHOA, A GOAT GOT LOOSE! IT'S HEADING FOR TOWN, SOMEBODY STOP IT!"

Link sighed and stepped onto the path leading to the ranch as he spotted the charging goat, Zelda gasped in shock, but Link stood calmly as the big goat came closer. Just as it was about to hit, Link braced his legs and absorbed the charge before using the goats own momentum and swinging the it to his right. The goat walked slowly back up to the ranch as Link dusted himself off and turned to face Zelda who clearly looked shaken up. Chuckling slightly he said,

"don't worry about that Zelda, Fado's always been a bit lax about keeping watch on the goats and sometimes they escape. Once you've learned how, they can be stopped fairly easily."

Zelda gave a small smile and said, "that was amazing."

Bo sighed in relief and said, "I'm very sorry Your Highness, I'll make sure that doesn't happen again, now I'm sure you and Link are tired and hungry after your long trip, so how about dinner?"

Link and Zelda smiled and followed Bo inside where a hot meal was being dished up, Link ate contentedly, glad to finally eat food from home again and felt a great sense of contentment as he ate, talked and laughed with the others. Eventually it grew dark and Link bade Zelda and others goodnight and made his way out. Deciding to take his opportunity to lay the master sword to rest, he went back to his hut where he changed into his green garb and mounted Epona. Link rode into Faron woods, following the moonlit trail, there wasn't a single cloud overhead and the sky was filled with stars. All was quiet and soon he dismounted Epona and made his way down a narrow trail that led around the gorge before making his way into the sacred grove. The ancient ruins and trees were beautiful beneath the starlight and Link gazed around as he knew this would be the last time he would ever see it. Making his way between the trees he came to the ruins of the temple of time and slowly stepped into the remains of the pedestal chamber. Walking up to the dias, Link drew the master sword and plunged it into the stone. His work done, Link turned around to begin his walk back to the village when he saw a cloaked figure standing besides the entranceway. Link had noticed over time that his since he had become a wolf his night vision had improved even in human form. He could tell that the figure had not yet noticed him, so he moved closer, one hand on his sword hilt, ready to fight if the figure proved hostile. As he moved closer, he recognised the patterns on the cloak and relaxed as he realised it was Princess Zelda. releasing his hand from his sword hilt, Link stepped closer when Zelda turned and said, "amazing, isn't it, while I had heard of this place, I never knew it was so beautiful."

Link moved closer still, so that he could see Zelda's face in the starlight, her cloak hiding her from all but the sharpest eyes and replied, "yes, I couldn't believe it when I came here for the first time, its almost like it was built for the goddesses themselves."

Zelda smiled and said, "it was, millennia ago, it was built to guard the gates to the sacred realm, but after the triforce war, the temple and the surrounding city were abandoned and over time, nature reclaimed the area and the wood grew. History became legend, legend became myth and in time all was forgotten by most."

Link smiled and said, "how did you find me here? These woods are very large, even I haven't seen them all."

Zelda moved closer still and said, "I knew you'd want to return the master sword, the legends surrounding it say that it may only be used at the hour of utmost need. I know you have a strong sense of honour and nobility, so I guessed you would return the blade as the danger of Ganondorf has passed."

Link nodded slowly, and couldn't help but notice how close Zelda was, the moonlight framing her face, making her look angelic. Link spoke and said,

"Lord Steiner appeared to me yesterday at the construction site and led me to his tomb. When I was there, he told me to lay the master sword to rest as I no longer need it. He told me to take his sword, which was forged especially for the Lord Protector."

Zelda smiled and said, "then you have been judged worthy by all, even the spirits of the ancestors, all that remains is to.."

Link saw the same gleam on Zelda's face and said, "to what?"

Zelda leaned forward, and without warning put her arms around his neck and pulled him close making their lips meet in a passionate kiss. Link stiffened for a moment, not expecting it, but soon relaxed and put his arms around Zelda's waist pulling her closer still and deepening the kiss. Link had kissed before, girls had long chased him, and several had cornered him beneath mistletoe and at festivals. But all the sensations he had felt during his experiences with village girls paled in comparison to what he felt as Zelda held him to her, and as they kissed beneath the clear night sky, a shooting star flew overhead.

Zelda drew back a few minutes later holding him at arms length, Link made to speak but Zelda pressed a finger to his lips silencing him before saying,

"Link, Illia told me of your fears, I can understand why you felt them but I swear by all the goddesses and spirits of this world, that you need not fear losing me. You would have to be the bravest, kindest, most honourable and most handsome man I have ever met. But the point I'm trying to make is, I love you my hero."

Zelda pulled him close, and as she did, Link felt a tear fall from his eye. In all his life he had never heard anything more beautiful, no music or words had even come close to the words of Zelda's declaration. Even when speaking normally her voice had always been like sweet music to him, but her declaration had blown his mind."

Link lifted Zelda's chin so she was facing him, took a deep breath and said, "Zelda, I have never heard anything more beautiful in my life than your words just now. I'm sorry I was foolish enough to think you would abandon me, but I had heard from several people what usually happens to young Princesses suddenly facing an empty throne. When I grew up, you were always merely a name, sitting in a distant castle I'd never seen. But going through the journey, meeting you, and then vowing to serve the land showed me just how much more you are. You are the most beautiful, kindest and wisest woman I have ever known, and I love you too."

Zelda had tears running down her face as he spoke and pulled him closer, as they shared another tender embrace. Link heard giggling and pulled Zelda close as he saw the forest elemental appear. Link moved in front of Zelda and drew his sword, noticing that the soft white glow had been replaced by a near blinding gold one. Zelda gasped at the sight, and Link stood ready for a wave of wood puppets, however the spirit did not summon any and instead changed from a small imp, to what looked like a young girl, with green hair, greed eyes and a green skirt. She spoke in a kindly voice and said.

"Link, great hero, and Lord Protector of Hyrule, stay your blade for I am not your enemy. My name is Saria, I am the spirit of the forest and the guardian of this grove, and have watched over it since ancient times. I am moved, as rarely have I seen such beauty from mortals. Such true love in in its most pure form is one of the rarest sights in the world. Long have I watched both your destinies as you both have a vital role in the fates of nations. But tonight I do not simply come with congratulations but also a warning. Next year, at midsummer's eve, the orcs of the stone talon mountains will begin to attack Hyrule. Twenty thousand of them, under the command of Urg the butcher, an orc who's cruelty is beyond measure."

Link paled and drew Zelda to him and said, "do you see where he will attack?"

Saria looked gravely at him and said, "It will begin with the eastern village of Kakariko, the orcs will travel by the pass of eldin."

Link felt some relief as he knew that that area was sparsely populated and readily defendable and said, "thank you my lady, we will use the information wisely."

Saria smiled and disappeared leaving Link and Zelda alone, Link looked at Zelda with a grave expression on his face and said,

"well that just spoiled our evening, but at least we know."

Zelda stroked his face gently and rested a hand on his cheek and said, " we have time, time to prepare, you will face this evil, and you will defeat it. Another advantage we have is intelligence, orcs are not known for their brains. Now Link, we can't do anything about it now, we came for a holiday so lets enjoy ourselves."

Link smiled before taking Zelda's hand and leading her out of the sacred grove and back to the village, they stopped at Link's house and Link kissed her softly for a moment and made to let go, before Zelda said, "I'm staying with you, after what I just heard, there's no way I'd sleep soundly without you, and after your beautiful gift of words I cannot bear to part with you."

Link smiled and secretly knew that he wouldn't sleep by himself either, stood aside and let Zelda climb the ladder, waiting until she reached the top before climbing up and opening the door for her, letting her inside first. Link went in and shut the door behind them before turning up the wick in the lanterns illuminating the room. Zelda smiled at him and said,

"wow, this place is gorgeous, so cosy and warm. Your lucky to have grown up here, beautiful scenery, good people, and a warm house."

Link blushed and said, "The whole town helped raise me, and when I'd grown up, the men all helped me build this place. It's not much, but it's home. It's getting late though Zelda, we should probably get some sleep, as the village kids will be around here bright and early to wake me up."

Zelda giggled and said, "think of the shock they'll get when I follow you out."

Link chuckled and led the way over to his bed, Zelda kissed him before walking over to the bathroom. Link stripped off his clothes and put them away before sitting on his bed to wait for Zelda, she came out a few minutes later with a long robe over her nightdress which she shrugged off before walking over to Link and pulling him close to her. Link and Zelda held each other close for a few minutes before Zelda drew away and hopped into bed. Link lit the candle beside his bed and dimmed the lanterns before getting in and blowing the candle out. Pulling Zelda close, he fell asleep quickly only peaceful dreams coming to the young couple that night.

Link and Zelda spent the next few days relaxing and trying not to think about the orcish threat. The villagers were not surprised at the revelation of the couples relationship and all were overjoyed at the news, the children already discussing the wedding and Illia light heartedly telling Link off for being an idiot in thinking Zelda would abandon him. Link enjoyed showing Zelda around the village and introducing her to the people that were like family to him. Uli, Zelda and Illia got on very well with the three of them spending a lot of time together helping Uli with her new daughter who had been named Romilda. Link and the other men spent their time pitching tents, collecting food and preparing the festival site. The added presence of Zelda proving strong motivation with all of them working hard to make it a good festival. The day of the festival soon came and the whole village was busy with the preparations for the evenings celebrations. Link went into his hut and changed into his best suit and cloak before walking over to Bo's house, Bo came out and said,

"Enjoy tonight Link, if anybody deserves a night of fun it's you, you and Zelda both deserve every happiness. I've got Billy Cassidy and the barn boys to play tonight, so you can show Zelda how well you dance."

Link grinned and went inside where he found Illia, dressed in her best, who smiled at him, hugged him tightly and said, "she'll be out in a minute Link, you're so lucky, you know that. You and Zelda are perfect for each other."

Link smiled at his childhood friend and said, "she's everything I could ever want in a woman and much much more. I just hope the local lads don't give trouble."

Illia released him and said, "I don't think they will, they respect you too much."

Zelda came out and seeing Link she beamed broadly and threw herself into his arms and kissed him long and deeply, she had her new white and pale pink gown on, white gloves that covered her forearms and a spectacular sapphire necklace. Link grinned and said, "I think a lot of men are going to get whacked by disgruntled dates tonight my love, nobody will be able to keep their eyes off you, myself included."

Zelda giggled and took Link's arm as they left the house and walked up to the ranch where the festival had been set up. As they got close, the sounds of laughter, music and singing reached their ears, Link led Zelda into the central space where a big bonfire had been lit to roast a large boar, and just as he had predicted heads turned with many of the men looking at the pair with looks of astonishment. Bo came up and walked onto a raised platform, the crowd fell silent and Bo said,

"Welcome everyone to the annual harvest festival, as we celebrate the bounty provided by nature and the goddesses, we welcome a special guest to our festival tonight. I give you, Crown Princess Zelda."

The crowd cheered and Zelda walked onto the vacated platform thanking Bo for the welcome and spoke to the spellbound crowd of recent events and her joy in attending before beckoning to Link, Link walked onto the platform and placed an arm around Zelda's waist as she continued on about Link's appointment as Lord Protector and how he and she had become a couple. By the end of her speech the crowd were roaring in approval. Competition began, with numerous games having been set up and challenge arenas being erected. Link led Zelda around, showing all his favourites such as horseshoes and shooting galleries. Food and drink were served in abundance with all the villages bringing in local specialities, and Zelda was fascinated by it all and loving every minute of it, soon enough for Link, Billy and the Barn boys came on and began playing. They were a string quartet from the next village who were well respected throughout the district for their musical talent, Link and Zelda watched as the villagers began dancing, and Link pulled Zelda by the hand and led her out, proceeding to dance the night away, both of them enjoying being able to act just like any other young couple. A barrage of fireworks wowed the crowd as the Barn boys finished playing a few hours later. Just as the festival was beginning to slow down slightly as everyone began to sit and relax, a drunken man staggered up to Link, Link sighed as he remembered him as being Mort, who had clearly been drinking again when he said,

"Link, hic. Whhy you 'ere with some fancy city wench, hic? When you could have all the, hic country girls you want."

Link tried to be calm and said, "Mort, your drunk, go home and sleep it off before you get arrested, don't you know who you're talking about."

Mort staggered slightly before saying, "hic. that's Princess Zelda that is, why's she ere then, the royal family are a bunch of fools, and the king's a fat lazy prick, hic."

Link couldn't believe his ears, and saw Zelda with tears streaming down her face and Link said to Mort in his most menacing tone, "one more word and I'll have you arrested. You fool, the Kings dead, he was killed horribly trying to protect idiots like you, and you stand before his only daughter slandering his memory."

Mort snarled and said, "who are you to order me around you self important jackass, hic, let me show you the colour of your wenches guts."

The drunken farmer smashed the bottle he was holding on a rock and tried to take a wild swing at Zelda, before Link moved in the way and laid the drunken farmer out with a right hook.

Link pulled Zelda close and whispered soothingly to her as Bo and Rusl came running, the two men stopped and looked down at Mort before Rusl said, "what's been happening here then? Mort been drinking again, oh gods, I can smell the whisky from here."

Link looked grimly at Rusl and said, "the fool insulted the king and tried to kill Zelda, if he was sober I would had to have killed him on the spot. Take him to the sheriff, normally what he did would be a capital crime, but he was drunk, so let the sheriff handle it."

Rusl and Bo nodded before picking up Mort and carrying him away, Link turned back to Zelda who had calmed down somewhat, before she said,

"thank you Link, you always show just how much of a wonderful man you are, here I have something for you."

Zelda pulled a velvet package from a pocket in her cloak before unfolding it and showing it to Link, he gasped as the contents were a spectacular sapphire necklace that was very similar to the one adorning Zelda's neck, she clipped it onto his neck before saying, "it was my fathers, it's been passed down for generations father to son, however when there has been no son the daughter was allowed to gift it only to the man she wished to be with."

Link gasped, "he had heard of the tradition, but never knew Zelda would give him something so precious and said, "thank you Zelda, I will always treasure it, just as I will always treasure you."

Zelda smiled and said, "I know you will, can we go now? I think I've had enough excitement for one night."

Link chuckled and led the way back to his house as he guessed Zelda would want to stay with him. Sure enough, Zelda followed him inside and after a long day Link and Zelda were soon asleep and slept soundly, ready to face the next challenge in restoring Hyrule.


	4. Chapter 4

-1After the Twilight Fades

_Authors note: Thank you my loyal readers, at last more reviews are coming in. I'm glad most of you like how the story is unfolding and I hope you like this chapter as much as the previous ones. We begin to move towards the main crisis of the story now and I hope it will eventually satisfy those screaming for blood and serious Zelink action. Thanks for the constructive criticism, and no I don't mind the comments, they help make the story better. To rebut them, my first point is this, this is fan fiction so I'm allowed creative license here, so sometimes characters being a little o.o.c is necessary for the story being told. Also, nobodies perfect, so whenever you read fan fiction a few writing flaws are to be expected, but I'll try and improve the flow and cut out excessive dialogue._

Chapter 4: There and Back Again

Link woke up the next morning and gazed down at Zelda who was still sleeping and smiled. He knew that she was the only woman he could ever truly love and hoped he could be all she wished for. He sat up and gazed around his room and began to think of what he knew had to be done now the children had been brought safely home. Urg, the orc leader had to be met and defeated, and he knew that he could not truly call Hyrule safe until the orc leader laid dead upon the ground. Link failed to notice Zelda stirring, but yielded to her hands as she pulled him down gently to face her. She looked at him with a slightly sad look and said,

"Link, my love, what is it? What troubles you? I can sense you are unsettled, please tell me."

Link sighed and looked at Zelda replying, "the orcs are the main cause of my uneasiness. Until the threat has been dealt with I can't really relax, and it is so unfair. Just as I defeated the dark lord and we find each other, the orcs have to ruin it. Also, last night, Mort, I can't believe what he did, you've been looking forward to coming here for days and he had to try and kill you."

Zelda smiled sadly at Link and pulled him close and kissed him lovingly before whispering in his ear.

"Now you see here Link, last night was beyond your control and it wasn't your fault. It was Mort who chose to do what he did, yes I was terrified, but it's over now. The orcs are dangerous, but they don't know that we know they're coming. We have time to prepare our defence. You won't be facing them alone, our army and our friends will join you. If you trust nothing else than at least trust me, trust us."

Zelda took his hand and placed it over her heart and kissed him long and deeply before drawing away slightly.

Link smiled and knew Zelda was right and felt his uneasiness slowly fade as Zelda held him, gently caressing him with her hands. He looked at her and couldn't believe his luck to have her with him and replied.

"I know, you're right, sometimes I just feel it's all so unfair. I had hopes of a more happy recovery period where we could just be ourselves. You've lost so much after all you've been through."

Zelda faced him and smiled warmly at him before saying, "I know, but just as I've lost much I've gained so much as well. I will always miss father, but I have you now and you give me all the happiness and love I need. We'll get through this, I know we will."

Link kissed Zelda softly before they both got up and Link busied himself making breakfast for himself and Zelda. After freshening up for the day, they left Link's hut and walked over to Bo's house hand in hand. They found the mayor inside and Bo began to speak,

"Link, Your Highness, let me express my apologies for Mort last night. It was an honour for you both to attend the festival and I hope you enjoyed it."

Zelda smiled and said, "yes we did, and thank you for letting us come. But now we have other concerns to address. I would be grateful if you could assemble the villagers and let us speak to them."

Bo looked surprised but said, "as you command Your Highness."

With that the mayor of Ordon left and a bell was heard ringing which summoned all the villagers and festival revellers to the ranch. Link and Zelda followed the familiar path and walked up to the platform as the crowd began whispering amongst themselves. Link held up a hand to silence the crowd and began to speak.

"Friends, Ordonians, countrymen, lend me your ears. Today myself and Zelda come to you under grave circumstances. A few days ago, Saria the forest spirit foretold a terrible event, next year at midsummer's eve, the orcs of the stone talon mountains intend to attack our land."

As he expected the crowd gasped and began to murmur amongst themselves with some demanding action. Zelda silenced the crowd with a hand and began to speak,

"My people, I ask for you all not to panic. Though our land is still reeling from the dark days just past, we will not allow our land to fall to the green hordes. Our gallant Lord Protector will lead our troops to meet this threat head on, and I ask all to consider joining him. Our enemy is vast in number and battle hardened, he will fight savagely, but we are Hylians, we will fight them, and we will win."

The crowd roared it's approval witch chants of long live the queen ringing out for at least five minutes before the crowd began to break up. Link led Zelda out of the ranch and bade the townsfolk goodbye, telling Rusl to expect recruits in the near future. Link and Zelda mounted their horses and left Ordon behind, galloping through Faron woods and into Hyrule field beginning their journey to the town. The field was beautiful beneath the clear spring sky and Link silently vowed that the orcs would never soil the green fields of Hyrule. Nothing bothered Link and Zelda and they soon reached the castle town making their way through the south gate past the bustling crowds in the market. They made their way to the mayors house where the portly man was finishing with some paperwork. He smiled at them and said,

"Your Highness, Your Grace, a relaxing holiday in Ordon I trust?"

Link and Zelda smiled and Link said, "yes, indeed, however we have some bad news as well."

The mayor looked curious and was about to speak before a soldier burst through the door, and stopped in the office clearly out of breath. Link and Zelda frowned slightly before the soldier spoke,

"O.. Or…Orcs! A mounted warband, coming from the east."

Link frowned, but realised it couldn't be the main force before facing the soldier and saying calmly, "go tell the captain to get soldiers to the walls and have the gates shut. I'll be along directly, go now, quickly."

Link turned to Zelda and the mayor as the soldier ran off and said, "duty calls, I'll be back as soon as the assault has been repulsed."

Zelda walked over to him, pulled him close and whispered, "be careful my love."

Link smiled and kissed her before replying, "don't worry, I'll be fine, I once knocked an orc leader off a bridge with only my bow."

With that, Link left the room, changed into his green garb and checked his weapons before making his way out of the mayors house and to the east gate where soldiers were taking up fighting positions and closing the gate. Making his way onto the wall Link called over to the leading officer and said,

"Captain Hawkins, report if you please."

The veteran soldier saluted and replied, "there's an orc warband coming in, about 150 of them, must be stragglers from the dark lords army, I can see that big leader with em."

Link sighed and looked through a telescope at the approaching orcs, he could see the column of boar riding orcs storming over the plains and could hear the ground shaking beneath their hooves, clouds of dirt shrouding the faces of the riders. Turning to the soldiers he shouted his order.

"Make ready!"

All around him soldiers drew out their bows and prepared to fire, drawing his own bow Link pulled the string back and aimed at the group of orcs as they drew closer and closer. As they entered firing range, Link waited until he could see orcs trying to draw bows and shouted, "LOOSE!"

At the top of his lungs. Link released the bowstring and watched the arrow speed towards the orcs as the silken buzzing sounds of flying arrows reached his ears. The volley was well aimed, and Link saw at least 40 orcs fall from the saddle as arrows struck them. Riderless boars slowed the survivors down and Link gave the order to prepare another volley. 20 or so orcs fell but by then the charging boars had reached the gates, the walls lacked murder holes so the orcs could not be shot at. Gazing down at the surviving orcs, Link spotted some of them bringing up ladders, turning to his men he shouted.

"Their using ladders, draw swords, nothing fancy. Knock them off, and let gravity do the work."

The soldiers quickly drew swords and Link followed suit, watching as ladders thumped against the walls and orcs began to climb up. Drawing his sword, Link waited until he could see an orc and stabbed forward, sending the green figure down to the waiting wood of the bridge below. Link felt relieved as he fought orc after orc as it was clear to him that his men were good fighters. A few orcs made it up the ladders, but they could never get enough to the top of the wall and within the hour the survivors retreated, the big leader calling up to Link.

"You fight well human, I look forward to our next meeting."

Link nodded and with that the surviving orcs fled into the north east, turning to the Captain and said, "how stands the day Captain?"

Captain Hawkins saluted and said, " 100 killed at least, the rest fled, of our own casualties no deaths, and 22 wounded, none gravely."

Link smiled and said, "well done Captain, today was merely a skirmish, but soon we will face a much larger orcish threat. I will brief you and the other officers at a later time. For now, get the wounded to the healers and dispose of the dead orcs."

Captain Hawkins saluted and Link left the wall and made his way to the mayors house, Zelda was relieved at the news of the victory and thanked him for his efforts. The mayor and guild leaders were slightly shocked in the aftermath of the attack, but despite this reported their progress in clearing the rubble and excavating new footings for the castle to be well ahead of schedule thanks to the work of the soldiers. The meeting concluded on a happier note with the delivery of an invitation to attend Prince Rallis's coronation feast in two days time. Knowing that he had to get to snow peak mountain to pick up the old weapons, Link penned a quick affirmative to the letter before sending it off with the postman. Link then went outside and summoned the townspeople to the square and made a speech, telling the people of the greater orcish threat and urging the townsfolk to consider enlisting and by the end of his address he had the townsfolk in a patriotic mood with many shouting their defiance to the orcs as he Link gazed into the packed crowd lining the square. Link and Zelda rode out of the east gate towards Kakariko village, with Link feeling a note of regret that the battle had come so close to the city. Link and Zelda rode past the battlefield which was still littered with arrows and dead orcs, with a large squad of soldiers working to clear it. Stopping his horse Link spoke to the soldiers and said.

"Well done men, you all fought valiantly today, but be on your guard, they not have been the main orcish force but they still a formidable foe. As a precaution against further attacks I want the guard shift doubled until further notice."

The soldiers saluted and Link and Zelda rode on and soon reached Kakariko village which seemed so much emptier now that the Ordon children had returned home. After greeting Renado and Luda, Link and Zelda had an early dinner and slept soundly, as both were exhausted after the long day. Over the next few days, Link conducted meetings with the resistance, town mayors and officers from the provincial regiments planning to build up security against further orc attacks. The process was slow but systems of recruitment and training were devised with new training camps to be built in Ordon and Kakariko village and recruiting parties being sent around the country. Plans were also devised to begin to fortify sections of the pass of Eldin and erect watch towers on all the likely routes across the eastern border, with all the leaders and the resistance quickly agreeing that a straight out battle on open ground would be suicidal in the face of the estimated number of the orcish horde.

The day of Rallis' coronation dawned and Link and Zelda dressed in their best and set off into the north. As they rode across the plains of Eldin beneath a warm spring morning all was quiet and peaceful, the orcs that usually attacked travellers on the bridge were gone as they rode over the vast structure and even the north pass was quiet. Eventually they reached Zora's domain, and travelled up through the caves and into the throne room. The Zoras were all happy to see them, and when they reached the young Prince of the Zoras standing before the ornately carved throne in front of the spring, the chamberlain spoke to the assembled populace.

"Her Highness, Crown Princess Zelda of Hyrule, and His Grace, Link, the Duke of Lanayru, and Lord Protector of Hyrule."

The assembled Zoras clapped and cheered as Link and Zelda approached Rallis, Link bowed slightly and said.

"Well Your Highness, today's the day. May you rule wisely and lead your people with strength."

Rallis smiled and said, "thanks Link, I'm really not ready for this, but it must be done for the good of my people and for my mothers memory."

Zelda stepped forward and said, "you're more ready than you know, you will rule wisely and lead your people to greatness Rallis."

Rallis turned to Zelda and said, "Zelda, you're words are true as your heart is kind."

The coronation soon began, and Link and Zelda watched and listened as Rallis made a speech, vowing to watch over his people and the waterways of his kingdom and promising to rule with honour. When he finished speaking, he sat down on the throne and took into his hand a vast pearl, a Zora who Link hadn't seen before slowly lowered a slim golden crown set with small pearls and a single large sapphire onto Rallis's head.

The unknown Zora spoke to the crowd at large and said, "I crown you, King Rallis the tenth, may your wisdom grace us until the stars rain down upon us and the seas and rivers boil."

Link and Zelda clapped and cheered along with the crowd, who after the ceremony finished began to move along to a vast and richly decorated chamber Link hadn't been to before. Leading Zelda inside, Link gazed around the room and saw shallow pools which held brightly coloured aquatic plants, and rich tapestries hanging from the walls. In the centre of the room was a large table that seemed to be carved from a single large coral, and upon the table a vast feast had been laid out. While most of the dishes seemed to appeal to Zora tastes with many different types of fish, the cooks had clearly made an effort to cater for Link and Zelda with a vast variety of other food and drink on offer. The feasting, drinking and dancing went on all day and well into the night with Link and Zelda enjoying themselves and spending time talking with the young King of the Zoras who was more than happy to allow Link to send his soldiers through Zoras domain to travel up to snow peak mountain to obtain the old weapons. The next morning Link and Zelda geared up, bade Rallis and the other Zoras goodbye and began the long trek up snow peak mountain, the ever present blizzard Link remembered had gone and instead the sky was clear overhead, the sun reflecting brightly off the snow that covered the slopes. The snow wolves and Ice keese had also disappeared from the vast snow drifts, but despite this Link still sensed the primeval spirit of the snowcapped peak as he trudged his way through the knee deep snow. The going was slow, and by the time Link and Zelda reached the summit night had begun to fall casting a golden glow over the slopes as Link gazed downwards. Walking towards the large tree at the summit he spotting the yetis standing nearby. Link and Zelda walked up to them and Yeto turned to face them and began speaking.

"Link, you return to mountain again? What you seek this time? Your true self again, also who this stranger you bring? Your wife?"

Despite the cold Link blushed slightly and heard Zelda giggle at the big yetis words, but responded quickly and said.

"Good to see you again Yeto. To answer your questions, this is Princess Zelda, she isn't my wife, at least not yet, however she is the leader of the humans. As to why we're here, I'll let her explain."

Zelda stepped forward and said, "honourable lord of the mountain. Years ago, my ancestors commanded a fortress to be built to guard the pass that leads to Frostholme, the mountain reclaimed the area and in time the fortress was abandoned. Now we need to take some of our tools that were left behind, as we face an orcish horde coming from the east to attack the lowlands."

Yeto looked surprised and said, "you come all this way for human tools, no need to ask Yeto for them, they at house. No use to me and Yeta, too small for us. Since you come all this way, me make dinner for you both."

Zelda smiled at the big yeti, and Yeta spoke up, "it getting dark now, how about we go to house, husband a good cook."

Link smiled and said, "an excellent suggestion Yeta, no race today though as I must get Zelda down to the house safely."

Yeta beamed at them and said, "you devoted to her Link, you act like husband, she lucky to have you."

With that the two yetis began to slide down the trail to the house, Zelda turned to him smiling and said, "you were so sweet to that yeti. What happened last time?"

Link felt a twinge of regret and said, "Yeto found a piece of the mirror of twilight on this mountain and gave it to Yeta. It called monsters all over the mountain as well as an endless blizzard. By the time I got up here it began to possess her and in the finish I had to fight her to release her from the spell."

Zelda looked slightly sad and said, "even in pieces that mirror possessed a terrible power, Midna was right to destroy it."

Zelda then smiled and said, "we shouldn't keep our hosts waiting Link, but how can we get down there?"

Link grinned and said, "like this."

He went over to the tree and knocked two frozen leaves loose and carried them over before saying, "we can use these and slide down, keep your balance, follow the trail and you'll be fine."

Zelda looked apprehensive but got onto her leaf just as Link licked off, following the trail down Link felt the usual rush of the wind in his hair as he cut a trail through the snow. He gazed back at Zelda who seemed to be handling herself well. The route was familiar and Link felt no fear as he raced downwards gaining more and more speed through the twists and turns. Soon however the trail levelled off and he felt himself slow down and come to a halt as he reached the ancient stone of the bridge to the fort. He waited for Zelda who came to a halt beside him before leading the way inside, and as he did he once again marvelled at the richness of the decorations of the old fortress as he led Zelda through the entrance hall and into the sitting room. The room was warm and cosy with a roaring fire in the grate, and Link could detect delicious cooking smells coming from the kitchen next door. After pulling a chair for Zelda Link found one himself and sat down and he and Zelda told the yetis of recent events and their hopes for the future before enjoying a good dinner. Yeto had outdone himself with a rich warming stew, that was like heaven after a long day climbing the cold mountain. After dinner, the yetis led the way to a guest room and after the long hard trek Link and Zelda were soon asleep. The next morning the yetis showed Link and Zelda an easier route down the mountainside, and Link and Zelda bade them goodbye just outside Zoras domain promising to return at a later date. They rode to Hyrule castle town and gave orders for a company of soldiers to move out to collect the weapons and armour from the fortress. Walking up to the castle building site, Link inspected the progress of the work and was pleased as he saw teams of men clearing out the remaining rubble, and bringing in piles of wood and stone. Finding the foreman he walked over and said,

"How goes the work Mr Groat?"

The man turned and responded with a happy look on his face and said, "very good Your Grace, we've almost finished with the rubble and basement repairs, and we should be ready to start building the upper levels within the next two days."

Link smiled and said, "very good Mr Groat, very good. Keep up the good work, I'm sure Her Highness will be most pleased."

With that Link turned and left, finding Zelda in the city he told her of the progress, the young heir to the throne was pleased at the news and whispered into his ear.

"That's wonderful, soon we will have our home back, our own home, where we can live together watching over a new age for our country, and just be ourselves, with no more wars, bloodthirsty orcs, insane dark lords or drunken farmers."

Link smiled at her words, as he too looked forward to the day when he and Zelda could live together permanently."

Whispering back he said, "together we shall build a Hyrule even greater than before, and I certainly can't wait to devote more to you."

Zelda blushed pink and swatted him playfully before they walked on and found their horses and rode off into the east, where Link hoped he could soon begin to prepare a warm Hylian welcome for the green skinned menace that loomed on the horizon. Link knew he had been given the tools and now he had to prepare to finish the job that laid before him and the rest of the nation.


	5. Chapter 5

-1After the Twilight Fades

_Authors note: Thank you to all those who have been reading and leaving reviews, it's always nice to know ones work is appreciated, and what was seen to be good and bad in the fic. Here we are, a lot of you have probably been waiting for what happens in this chapter and I hope you like the way I start it off. Sorry about the delay in getting this chapter up, but university essays and my thesis take up most of my time these days and this chapter was the hardest yet to write. _

Chapter 5: Into the Abyss

The year of waiting for the orc attack passed quickly for Link, and he worked as hard as he could to prepare Hyrule for war, but despite his best efforts he felt an approaching sense of dread as the fateful midsummer crept closer and closer. The Hylians worked hard to rebuild the land from the ravages of Ganondorf, and to prepare themselves for the oncoming storm. Link worked hard with the army, Ashei and Rusl to prepare new recruits and to bolster the peoples resolve, and had amassed a new regiment of approximately 5000 men, ready to fight for Hyrule on top of the 3000 men from the standing army that he had available. Zelda had been working just as hard to rebuild the nation, but despite this they still found time for each other. Link found that nothing could lift his spirits more than time with Zelda, who was always there for him when the stress of planning got to him. Sitting in the inn in Kakariko village one day, Link began to outline his plans to his officers and well as Zelda as he prepared to lead some of the experienced troops out to meet the orcs.

"Midsummer is fast approaching and soon our enemy will come, I have a plan here which I think could work. Attacking them head on open ground would be suicide, there's too many of them. If we set an ambush at Eldin's gate however, they'd be forced together into a narrow corridor and their numbers would count for nothing."

Captain Hawkins and the other officers had been nodding and murmuring as Link spoke and the Captain began to speak as Link fell silent.

"Your Grace, that is a good plan, however there are a few paths through those mountains, if the orcs find them they'd flank us and we'd get cut off."

Link looked grimly around the room and said, "I know, that's actually inevitable, stupid as they are they'll eventually find a way through. That's part of the plan, if we can hold them off long enough, more of our troops can dig in here at the village. We'll retreat when the orcs begin to flank us and fight them again here."

Zelda looked at him with a grim look and said, "we won't hold them at the village for long it is no fortress and is too exposed, they'll overrun us here as well. So we'll have to mount our final defence from the castle town, the castle isn't finished yet, but it is defensible, with the cannons and the new upgrades to the walls, we could hold them off there if it came to a siege."

Link responded and said, "We have no choice, castle town must be our final stand. But if we leave a few surprises for the green skins til last we should be able to do it. We should make a speech at castle town and then I will have to get moving tomorrow to get our men out there by midsummer's eve."

The others murmured their assent and the meeting began to break up, Link was silent as the meeting broke up and he went outside to mount Epona and spent the ride to the castle town lost in thought. Never did so much rest on so little, he knew that one bad decision could spell doom for the entire nation. Link gazed at the pristine green fields of the plains of Eldin beneath the clear midday sky as he rode, and felt terrible as he saw in his mind the image of the castle town in flames beneath the sunset, tens of thousands of orcs rampaging through the streets killing all in their path, staining the fields and stones red with the blood of the Hylians. Shaking his head, he rode on and eventually the group reached the city, dismounting Epona, he followed Zelda into the square and walked onto the platform that had been set up. The crowd fell silent as Zelda raised her hands before beginning to speak.

"My people, today we mark a grim beginning, a beast approaches our land, patient and confident, savouring the scent of the meal to come. This beast is made of orcs and boars, swords, spears and bows. An army of green skinned monsters, vast beyond our worst nightmares, ready to devour our beloved Hyrule, ready to destroy the world of men, of truth and justice. A beast approaches us, and we must be ready.

Our soldiers march tomorrow, to face the beast without fear, only a heightened sense of things shall guide them. For we shall fight them in the mountains, we shall fight them on the fields and in the streets and in the forests, for we are Hylians and we will never surrender. Our gallant soldiers and Lord Protector shall meet the beast head on, in the mountains, and the villages and on the plains and when the beast reaches us here, I myself will take up arms and fight."

The crowd roared in approval, the sound deafening as the men and women stood in the square and faced their ruler, Link gazed at Zelda and could not help but notice how strong she was. Nobody Link had ever known had ever shown such courage in the face of danger and had the strength to rally a crowd of scared merchants and traders to the point they'd willingly fight orcs. But he hoped it wouldn't come to Zelda herself having to fight. The crowd broke up and Link followed Zelda to the castle, the keep was well underway and the battlements and outer walls were finished, following Zelda into the keep, they spent the day with the officers and town leaders laying down plans for the defence of the city before dinner was served. Afterwards, Link bade Zelda goodnight and went to his room, the lower levels of the keep had been finished structurally and were inhabitable. Shrugging off his clothes he fell into bed and soon fell asleep.

Link woke up a few hours later, and as much as he tried he couldn't get back to sleep, deciding to get up he got out of bed and pulled on his robe and slippers and walked out his door. Making his way through the deserted halls of the castle he found a small balcony overlooking the town, making his way onto it he was amazed at the stillness. Not a breath of wind blew and not a creature stirred as he looked out at the kingdom spread below him beneath a full moon the land utterly still in the moonlight as if it was holding its breath and waiting for something. How long Link stood there, looking over the land he couldn't say, but he was interrupted in his thoughts when he felt a pair of soft feminine hands rested on his shoulders, Link was surprised as he hadn't heard anybody approach, but soon relaxed when he heard the voice which had never failed to lift his spirits.

"Link, can't you sleep?"

Link sighed and replied, "I'm scared, I've seen horrible visions, the kingdom in flames and the fields and the stones stained red with blood. I can't help but fear them coming true."

Zelda turned him around to face her and looked him in the face, the defiance clear in her eyes and she said,

"I wouldn't believe you if you told me you weren't scared Link, but you mustn't let it control you. The orcs are a dangerous enemy, and they will fight savagely. But you know their weaknesses, you know where they will come and we will triumph. Hyrule will never fall while you defend her, I know it"

Link smiled at her and said, "I know, but so much rests on this, the future of the entire country. History will be made, and nothing will be the same again."

Zelda moved closer and whispered, "and the kingdom will rise to be even better than before, it will not be our end but the end of the orc leader. I have something for you Link."

Zelda pulled out a very familiar black stone, however the sinister orange glow was punctuated by several runes glowing white. She raised the stone and pressed it into Link's forehead. He felt the usual shift in perspective and looked down at his wolf form. He gazed up at Zelda, the surprise in his face clearly visible, Zelda knelt down and stroked the fur on his head softly for a moment before saying.

"I've managed to modify the magic of the stone, you can now shift between wolf and human forms at will, all you have to do is will your transformation and you will change."

Link was surprised but a moment later returned to normal and extended a hand to Zelda who took it and allowed him to pull her to her feet. He felt the magic of the stone in him and as it flowed through him he felt his fear dissolve. He looked at Zelda and said.

"Now I feel better, I can feel the stones power and I can sense the wolf's emotion."

Zelda nodded and led the way inside and too Link's room, only peaceful dreams of his and Zelda's future came to Link for the rest of the night, Zelda's warmth washing away his uncertainty and giving him all the comfort he needed.

The next morning, Link and Zelda awoke and after freshening himself up, he packed his equipment and sent the message out to muster his forces, he found Zelda in the entrance hall and took her off to one side. Zelda pulled him close and kissed him with more passion than ever before holding him close, looking deeply into his eyes, the look on each of their faces saying more than any words could do. She spoke after a time and said, "what ever you do, just come back to me safely."

Link smiled sadly and said, "I will, there's so much more for us to achieve together."

Link kissed her again for a moment before drawing away and began walking out towards the town square, Zelda following beside him, her hand holding his tightly. The troops stood in formation in the square, all of them perfectly still and silent. Captain Hawkins detached himself from them and said,

"500 Your Grace, our finest, and most well trained men who will lead our stand against the green skinned horde ."

Link looked grimly at his men and hoped he could return as many of them to their families as possible, he opened his mouth and spoke.

"Today we go to meet our enemy, today we march to defend the worlds hope of reason and justice against tyranny and oppression. March to Eldin's gate and send the hordes back to the abyss."

The men cheered and roared their defiance before they mounted their horses and began to ride in formation out of the castle town, heading towards the east gate. Men, women and children lined the route out of the town watching their men ride off to war all of them bearing slightly grim looks upon their faces as the soldiers began to ride into the east. Link gazed back at Zelda as he began to ride off, and prayed to the goddesses that he would see her again. Leaving the town, the soldiers rode across the plains heading towards Kakariko village, the column of riders reaching it a few hours later and camping overnight in the now utterly deserted hamlet, it's last inhabitants evacuated by royal decree. The next day Link and his 500 left their horses and began to march into the pass of Eldin, a series of narrow trails of twists and turns and bridges leading into the east through the Death mountain range. Into the east they marched, into that narrow gap between the peaks, where Urg's numbers counted for nothing they marched. Husbands, brothers, sons, for honours and duties sake they marched towards the gate of Eldin, reaching it just as dusk fell, gazing down the hillside into the land of Albion.

The men set defensive positions, and put scouts on the possible orc flanking routes and waited as night fell, watching for any sign of the green skinned beast that was approaching. Link stood and watched as storm clouds began to gather overhead and listened as thunder began to roar, the lightning illuminating the mountains and the valley before him which sloped downwards towards a vast flat plain. Captain Hawkins came up to him and said,

"Let us watch, as the goddesses show us favour, and these beats are embraced by the loving arms of Hyrule herself."

Link smiled and said, true, the weather does favour us."

Sure enough the rain came, a ranging torrent that drenched the valley and soon turned the hilly ground into a system of rivers and the plain into a swamp as the water drained downwards, however soon Link's ears began to hear a noise from the valley below. A dull repetitive thud which seemed to be getting louder despite the noise of the storm above drifted up from the valley below, and a flash of lightning came which illuminated a scene Link could not believe. Orcs, tens of thousands of them came marching onto the plain below, and as Link watched, they stopped and began to set up camp for the night. The lights of the fires breaking through the dark of the night, with scattered patches of light visible for miles. Link couldn't believe his eyes but soon realised that the orcs would be severely hampered by the terrain, more so than he'd planned for. A junior officer came over and whispered to him saying,

"Your Grace, they're here, what are your orders?"

Link gazed down and said, "I doubt they'll attack in force tonight, the water would make the ascent too dangerous, keep watch on them and don't let any patrols past us, in fact if you kill any of them leave the bodies out in the open."

The officer looked slightly surprised but nodded and walked off, Link went into one of the dugouts that had been prepared to get some rest and he managed to get a few hours sleep, waking up just before dawn. Walking out to the grey stillness that proceeded the sunrise, he went over to the defensive line of barricades that had been established, where he found Captain Hawkins and said.

"Where are the enemy captain? Also how many patrols last night?"

The Captain saluted and said, "the enemy hasn't moved out yet in force, but we killed three patrols last night."

Link looked down at the hillside and spotted a few groups of arrow riddled orcs, and watched the main camp below as the orcs began to stir as the sun rose. As he watched, a mid sized group began to move out and Link turned to the Captain and ordered.

"It begins, get the men ready but tell them to keep low and not to fire until I say."

The Captain smiled and moved around the men ordering them into fighting positions, Link watched and listened as the group of orcs began to climb the hill. Drawing his bow and nocking an arrow he waited, as the orcs drew closer and closer. When they reached the corpses of the patrols Link, opened his mouth and shouted.

"Loose!"

A silken buzzing noise came as hundreds of arrows fell into the group of orcs, cutting down many where they were. Several turned and ran, but most of them kept coming, breaking into a charge as they spotted the Hylians. Link ordered his men to fire again which cut more orcs down, the mud hampering their ascent, as the orcs drew close, Link turned to his men and shouted.

"Swords!"

From all around him, Link heard the metallic sound of swords being unsheathed as his front ranks prepared to fight the enemy hand to hand. Link drew his sword, the blade glowing with a golden light and waited as he watched the charging orcs draw closer. Waiting until the orcs were close enough, he swung his sword into the mass of orcs, scything many down before they could react as the melee began around him, the ringing of steel and the clash of bodies echoing as the orcs tried to breach the Hylian lines. Link swung left and right, as all around him orcs tried to climb the barricade, the fighting was vicious, but short as the terrain hampered the charge of the orcs. The last orcs soon falling to the Hylians as their training showed through. Link faced his men, his chest heaving, orc blood dripping from his sword and said,

"A good start men, but this is only the beginning."

The Hylians cheered, and Link turned his gaze to the main orc army, as he knew they had only sent a probing attack and would soon attack in force. A horn blew and Link looked down to see a single orc rider on a boar begin the ascent, a few orcs were surrounding him, with one holding a crude banner, which was solid scarlet and featured a large orc sitting on what looked like a throne. Captain Hawkins looked puzzled and said,

"what's this? There's too few of them for another attack, maybe they intend to negotiate."

Link looked grim and said, "no, they're too vicious for that, hold fire until we know what they're up to."

The order was echoed and Link watched as the rider came closer, it stopped a short distance away from the barricade that had been erected and shouted out.

"I am the emissary, to the ruler of all the world, my master conquers all he sets his eyes on, commanding an army so vast, it shakes the ground beneath it's march, it's arrows will blot out the sun. By that authority, I demand you lay down your arms and surrender."

Link, began to laugh at the stupidity of the proposition, the noise was taken up by his troops and soon reached deafening levels. Turning to the rider he shouted,

"surrender, now that is a bit of a problem, you see the Albionians tried that, and you killed them all without mercy, and we Hylians have our pride to consider, if you blot out the sun then we will fight in the shade."

The messenger tried to look threatening and said, "choose your next words carefully human, they may be the last you utter."

Link gazed at his men, who to a man showed nothing but defiance at the words of the rider, and thought of Zelda, who's words of strength and honour had echoed across the square before facing the rider again, he drew his sword and said.

"Run along now and tell, your Urg, he faces Hylians here, and we will never suffer him to enter our land."

The orc rider who was unarmed faced him and said, "madness, this is madness, orc or human, nobody threatens a messenger."

Link, yelled to the rider, "madness, this is Hyrule!"

With that, Link jumped into the air and with a single sweep of his sword, beheaded the orc rider as some of his men jumped the barricade and killed the bodyguards. Link picked up the banner and mounted it on top of the barricade, before pulling out his lantern and setting fire to it, the fire quickly consumed it and from below Link heard the tones of horns being blown. The buzzing sound of bows followed it and Link gazed up as the sky began to darken, realising what was happening he shouted.

"Arrows, take cover!"

Drawing their shields over their heads, the Hylians crouched and waited as thousands of arrows thumped into the ground or clattered harmlessly off their shields. The men began laughing again and Captain Hawkins turned to Link and said,

"your right about one thing Your Grace, we will fight in the shade."

Link laughed along with the others and as the last arrows clattered of their shields he ordered the men to stand up. From below he began to hear a dull thumping and he watched, as the orcs began to thump their spears and swords into the ground and beat their chests. Deciding to provoke the orcs further, he got his bow out and nocked an arrow, fitting the Hawkeye to his bow, he drew the string back with a grunt and aimed carefully into the mass of orcs before picking out one in the front rank which seemed to have more ornate armour and weapons before loosing the arrow. The range was far, but the arrow shot straight and true, burying itself into the orcs chest and causing it to drop its sword and fall out of the front rank slowly and onto the muddy ground.

The orcs shouted with rage and a huge group began to advance, Link and the others fired into the charging mass, cutting down many, however the charging horde came towards them with the inevitable force of a landslide and Link and the others made ready to stand against them. The fighting went on all day orcs falling by the hundreds, never able to climb the barricade in sufficient numbers to break the Hylian lines. Link had never seen such savagery in his life watching men and orcs do their utmost to wipe each other from the face of the world, he fought all day and into the dusk, never retreating, cutting down one orc after another, his sword cutting through weapons, armour and orc flesh like butter. As the sun set that day, he began to hope that against all odds, they could do it, they could stop the orcs there at the gates.

Link gazed at the landscape beneath the sunset, the hillside littered with the bodies of the dead, swords, spears and arrows strewn all around him and banners flapping in the breeze and wished that he could stop the hordes here, but he knew retreat was still almost inevitable. Link turned to Captain Hawkins and said,

"we haven't seen the end of them yet, I've got a feeling they've got more surprises yet to come, keep careful watch tonight Captain."

The Captain looked grimly at him and said, "I fear you're right your grace, but we made a good start today, Urg knows every step into Hyrule will be paid in blood, we lost good men today but we will ensure their sacrifice wasn't in vain."

Link looked sadly at him and said, "how many Captain?"

Captain Hawkins looked sadly at Link and said, "32 men Your Grace, and another 23 wounded, we've evacuated the more seriously wounded, but they should be able to return to fight again at the castle."

Link nodded and watched the enemy camp as night fell, he and his men ate their rations and waited, getting what rest they could. Link was proved right a few hours later when a soldier alerted the others, Link walked over and looked down at the enemy camp, and watched as a small group of orcs appeared to be coming up, however these orcs were different. All were as tall as men and they wore much more thick armour and black cloaks. Each orc carried round shields as well as curved swords, and looked much more dangerous than the rank and file orcs they'd been fighting all day. Link looked curiously at them and said to Captain Hawkins,

"what are these things Captain?"

The Captain had a look of surprise on his face and said,

"the doom guard Your Grace, these orcs are apparently the personal guard of Urg himself, the orc warrior elite, sons of the orc chieftains. All are supposedly magically enhanced, bathed in the blood of their enemies before battle. Supposedly their impossible for a man to kill."

Link looked satisfied and said, "looks like we've touched a nerve, keep the men quiet get some boulders ready, a few rocks might surprise them before they hit us."

The Captain silently went about and got the men ready, preparing a few heavy boulders to roll onto the unsuspecting orcs. Waiting until they got close enough, Link shouted,

"Push, now! Let them have it!"

With a few grunts, the Hylians pushed large boulders down the hill and followed up with an arrow volley, the ambush took the doom guard by surprise and a sizeable number of them were either pierced by arrows or crushed by the rocks, however the survivors soon reached them and fought as savagely as the Captain said. The enhanced orcs were more skilled with their weapons and were able to withstand wounds that would fell their lesser brethren, several Hylians fell to their blades, but soon enough Hylian determination won through and the last of the doom guard fell, just as the sky began to get light. However the jubilation of victory was short lived, as a messenger came up to Link and said.

"Your Grace, the orcs have begun to move up the flanking paths!"

Link sighed and said, "damn, the doom guard were sent as a feint, get back to the others, tell them to retreat to the last bridge we crossed and rig it with explosives, and cover us as we retreat."

The messenger saluted and ran off, Link moved around the camp and ordered his men to move off. Link and his soldiers retreated back down the path laying caltrops and stringing wires as well as setting as many roadside traps as they could as they moved back. They eventually reached the bridge the last soldiers crossing as Link spotted the orcs in the distance, lighting the fuse Link and the others ran as fast as they could, and watched as a large group of orcs ran on to the bridge just as the fuse burnt down. With an almighty bang the bridge exploded into splinters, blowing the orcs on it to pieces and sending more orcs near the bridge into the gorge it spanned.

Turning to Captain Hawkins he said, "that should hold them for a few days, or at least til they find another way across or rebuild the bridge, get our men back to Kakariko village, the reinforcements should have arrived by now."

Captain Hawkins looked at Link with awe on his face and replied, "at once Your Grace, if we're lucky we'll be able to prepare an even better reception for them."

Link smiled and hoped he was right as he moved down the trail back towards the village, where the next battle would take place.


	6. Chapter 6

-1After the Twilight Fades

_Authors note: Thank you all for loving this fic, and well done Zelda…. For spotting the fact I took inspiration from 300 in the last chapter. Brilliant film which is well worth seeing. To answer the question about writing good battles, read a few fics from masters of the craft like 'StardustFromthePlanetGalifery', and take a look at what really works in their fics, you'll often find inspiration as along as you don't plagiarise anything. Also films are great sources of ideas, especially ones with lots of big battles like the Chronicles of Narnia movies, the Lord of the Rings trilogy, In the Name of the King, Kingdom of Heaven and of course 300. Watch them closely as you write and you'll soon fine yourself penning epic battles. The biggest thing you need however is practice, which does ultimately make perfect when it comes to writing anything. Sorry again about the delay in getting this chapter up, but exams are taking up most of my time now. But I'm about to finish semester and for the time being and updates should speed up then that happens._

Chapter 6: Enemy At the Gates

Link and his men followed the pass, putting distance between themselves and the orcs and soon arrived back at Kakariko village. Link knew that the orcs would soon follow and that the destruction of the bridge had bought him two days at most. As they entered the village from the north he turned to Captain Hawkins and said,

"stand the men down for now, everyone's probably exhausted after all the fighting. I think we'll have the orcs on us again in about two days, it will take them awhile to rebuild the bridge or find another route through the pass."

Captain Hawkins looked at him and responded, "you ought to get some sleep as well Your Grace, you look done in from the fighting and the retreat and we'll need you. We'll have to get the village ready and get the reinforcements in place, but you can't do that while sleepwalking."

Link smiled at the Captain and walked off as the men began to break off to rest, making his way through the village he made his way to the inn and walked past the officers and men in the bar room before walking up the stairs and into his room where he fell full length onto his bed fully clothed and falling asleep at once.

Waking a few hours later he had a long bath, doing his best to scrub the mud and gore off his body before getting out and drying himself off. After dressing in fresh clothes he went downstairs and ate heartily, the fresh cooked food tasting heavenly after a few days on dried army rations. After he finished his meal, he passed word to the officers summoning them to a briefing, as the last man sat down Link began to speak.

"Gentlemen, we have fought the orcs and dealt a sizeable blow to them, but weakened as they are, they are still as dangerous as ever. It's only a matter of time before they reach us here, and when they do, they'll be angry and we must be ready for them."

One of the officers from the reinforcing regiment began to speak and said, "our men stand ready Your Grace, if we begin fortifying the village now and preparing a battle plan we should at least be able to hold them down for a time."

Link looked around the bar room at the officers, all of whom had worried looks on their faces, tension gripping them as they waited for Link to explain the plan. He began to speak again and said,

"I managed to get a requisition order for quite a sizeable amount of explosives, when Barnes left, he took most of his finished stock to castle town for the cannons, but we have the rest here as well as his inventory of raw materials which we'll use to our advantage. If we place a company of archers in the tower we can arm them with bomb arrows, the orcs certainly won't like those falling into their ranks."

Captain Hawkins had been nodding as Link spoke and added,

"since we're on flat ground here, they'll be able to use their boar riders so if we reinforce the gates, string some wires and put in a few trenches and pit traps, they will stop boars in their tracks. Other than that, we just have to make sure we place our hand to hand fighters well. Archers can go on the ridges overlooking the buildings and in the buildings as well, we just have to make sure they've got ways out."

Another officer from the reinforcing troops said, "what'll we do when we have to retreat, we'll be tired from the fighting and they'll chase us down on the plains and cut us down ."

Link looked at the man and said, "not if we're careful, if we have a few lines of barricades on the main road where we line our troops up, we'll retreat when they breach the second. When they do that we'll torch the town, I really wish I had another alternative but that should keep them occupied, especially if we rig the place with the rest of the remaining explosives from Barnes stock and slosh a few barrels of lamp oil around the place, the buildings are all made of wood inside, they'll go up like bonfires."

The officers began to grin and all were murmuring in ascension to the plan, and all were pleased when the meeting broke up a few hours later, the officers breaking off to brief the troops.

The next morning Link walked through the town watching as his soldiers were working away at preparing the towns defence. Teams of men were moving about the village, digging pit traps and trenches, reinforcing the walls and gates moving crates of bombs and building barricades. Just as he passed the entrance of the path to Death mountain, Darbus the Goron chieftain came over to him and said.

"Human, we face a common enemy in these green skins, if Hyrule falls, our mountain will follow it, so I come to offer our assistance in this war."

Link was surprised and very pleased at the words as he knew charging Gorons would be very difficult to beat, especially by foes who had little experience against them and were poorly equipped, he faced Darbus and said.

"I would be most grateful for your assistance, if some of your warriors could cover our retreat and help us fight them here we would be most grateful."

Darbus grinned and said, "you are a cunning warrior human, you know your weaknesses and you adapt well to counter them, we will attack them and keep them busy while you pull out from the south side, your fire and bombs won't hurt us."

Link grinned as he worked and felt his mood soar as he received a message from Zelda later that day when a dispatch rider came in. Link eagerly ripped open the envelope and unfolded the letter, which read:

_My dearest Link_

_I was relieved to hear of your safety following the battle of Eldin's gate, you and your men fought valiantly and the townspeople were pleased at the news of the victory. I miss you terribly and I cannot wait for the day we will be together again after this war is over. Preparations at the castle town are almost finished and if you can hold the orcs at Kakariko village for a day or two, that should be enough time to finish getting ready here. But Link, whatever you do out there, just remember to be careful, I couldn't bear it if you were killed and I need you with me. When the war is over, I look forward to being with you forever._

_Forever yours_

_Zelda_

Links head filled with happiness at the thought of Zelda and he promised himself at that moment that he would propose to her as soon as the war ended.

Captain Hawkins walked over to him and said, "you look happy Your Grace, good news I trust?"

Link smiled and said, "a letter from Zelda, even her words on paper have a calming affect on me."

The Captain smiled at him and said, "you're lucky, you know. Not many farm boys get to do what you have, seeing the world fighting tyranny, and then saving a beautiful Princess . Your Grace there's no doubting the depth of her affection for you, she'd be a loving wife, and a loyal one."

Link blushed at the thought, to the chuckling of Captain Hawkins and then waved his hands about dismissively and said.

"Alright, that's enough Captain, when the men are done with preparations get them to rest and get some food and drink, the orcs can't be far away by now and I wouldn't be surprised if they attacked tonight or at dawn tomorrow they'll need their strength."

Captain Hawkins smiled and replied, "as you wish Your Grace, this next battle is going to be terrible, we've lost the advantage of surprise and we've pissed them off pretty hard. But we have better tactics, better weapons, better training, and we know the land."

Link grinned and after checking on the progress if the men, he went back to the inn and got some more sleep.

The next morning Link woke up early and geared up ready for battle, after a quick breakfast he moved about the village double checking the preparations and making sure his troops were in position. Making his way to the wall, Link got out his telescope and gazed at the route he knew the orcs would come from, and soon enough on the horizon Link saw the vast orc army heading towards him with the unstop ability of a landslide. Turning to his officers he ordered the men to take up fighting positions, the archers in the tower loaded bomb arrows and soon shouted their readiness down to the soldiers on the ground.

The ground began to shake as the orcs began to charge the wall, Link smiled grimly at the approaching horde and turned to the tower archers and shouted,

"open fire, give them everything you've got."

Link watched as bomb arrows shot into the sky and rained onto the approaching orc army like the wrath of the goddesses. The bombs struck the ground showering the orcs with deadly shrapnel from the rocky terrain cutting scores down in their tracks. Despite the carnage, the orc infantry reached the wall and Link ordered the men to draw swords. The melee quickly grew in intensity as more and more orcs stormed the wall and the gate in waves, the Hylians fighting on as bomb arrows whizzed overhead, the occasional explosion overruling the ring of steel and screams of the wounded as the battle raged on and on, Link fighting one orc after another his glowing blade slaughtering them like the beasts they were. Noon came and the inevitable happened, a group of orcs had managed to bring a battering ram up to the wall and severely weakened the gate before they were all killed and the ram set on fire.

Link watched as the orc infantry retreated shortly afterwards, he knew the Calvary would soon charge and the wall could not be held due to the fact that the weakened gate wouldn't hold against a charging boar. But he felt pleased as he gazed at the approach to the town which was strewn with dead orcs and scattered weapons. Minutes later just as he predicted a horn blew, and a deadly sight met his gaze as he saw a vast column of boar riders approaching, swearing slightly to himself he faced his men.

"The bastards know they'll never get in without boars so they're sending them at us now, we aren't done yet though, so let them come. Remember this day, for it will be yours for all history, this is where we fought, this is where they died."

The men cheered and moved back from the wall, setting it on fire and reforming behind the first barricade near the entrance to Death mountain in a tight triangular formation, halberd wielding fighters taking the place of swordsmen at the front, archers at the rear. The rumbling grew louder and clouds of dust flew into the air as the boar riders came closer, the war cries of the riders and the grunts of the mounts reaching the Hylians ears.

When the riders reached bowshot range, Link ordered another volley of bomb arrows from the tower, which flew into the mass of orcs with devastating affect, cutting many orcs and boars down and hampering the rest. But the orcs soon reached the burning wall and smashed the gate off its hinges and thundered down the road towards the second line of defence. As they moved along the road however, the weight of the boars and riders trigged the collapse of cunningly disguised wooden covers swallowing hundreds of riders as they fell into the spike lined pits that laid beneath. Not all the boars fell to the pits, and the remnants' of the charge of the orc riders soon reached the Hylian lines. Boars thundering down the sides of the triangle as the halberdiers jabbed their weapons at the orcs, sending the survivors to the dusty ground of the mountain village.

The fighting lasted all day, the Hylians fending off orcs attacking in waves until finally at sunset the orcs retreated having still not breached the second line, Link turned to Captain Hawkins and said.

"By the goddesses these things just keep coming, how many have we killed?"

The Captain looked at him and said, "10,000 orcs at least Your Grace, and most of the boar riders they've got were killed today I think, we've paid a heavy price though. We lost approximately 400 men today with about another 500 wounded, most of them will recover and can still fight, but I evacuated the most seriously hurt."

Link hung his head in despair and said, "so much death, so much blood and slaughter what will the families say when we get back to castle town? "

The Captain laid a hand on Link's shoulder and said, "they didn't die in vain, and the guys that died saved the lives of at least three times as many people, if we don't stop these green skins every last man woman and child in Hyrule will die."

Link sighed and said, "I know, you're right, but I wish we could have done it with less death, or better yet didn't need to fight at all."

The old soldier shrugged and said, "don't we all, but we're here and it's our job to fight these bastards, If I were you Your Grace, I'd get some rest while you can, they'll be back pretty soon and we'll have to retreat, everyone's exhausted and we're running low on ammo."

Link nodded grimly and moved around the soldiers as they took what rest and food they could before finding a spot near the lines and sitting down, he took the food and water that he was given and ate and drank as much as he could before falling asleep.

He was shaken awake a few hours later and walked over to the line where he gazed out at the orc army where he saw them preparing another assault, he turned to Captain Hawkins and said,

"it's time, I just hope the villagers will forgive me, make ready to pull out and give the orcs a bonfire they'll never forget."

The Captain looked grimly at him, but moved off passing orders around the men, and Link went to the entrance to Death mountain where he found Darbus waiting, turning to the big Goron he said.

"we've been fighting them all day and still they come, do your worst and I wish you and your warriors luck. We'll pull out now and burn the village."

The big Goron chief looked at him and said, "you and the other humans have fought valiantly, we've rarely seen such fierce fighting from humans, but now it's our turn, we'll crush the ones who chase you and not let them take one step upon the mountainside."

Link smiled and turned away before mounting Epona just as his soldiers began to pull out, and the Goron warriors came out and took up fighting positions. Link began to ride out just as the first orcs rushed the town, and as he rode he threw a torch onto a previously prepared pile of oil soaked wood outside the inn as some of the soldiers tossed bottles of burning oil into the windows of the other buildings. The fire blossomed quickly and Link felt guilty as he and his men galloped out of the south entrance to the village, his last sight of it being the houses and the tower engulfed in flames as the heat quickly rose to unbearable levels, and as Link and his men retreated the Gorons crushed all in their path as they fought to contain the orcs.

Link and his men galloped out of the village and turned north, taking the narrow path onto the central plain before moving into the west. The glow from the flames was enough to light the plains like a beacon, and smoke billowed into the air as they rode away from the inferno. But before they'd got halfway across the plains a group of about two hundred boar riders came from the east. Swearing loudly, Link knew that they'd have to attack them and ordered his men to turn and fight. Wheeling Epona around, he followed his men ordering them to draw swords and bows. Link drew his bow and followed the volley, shooting into the group of orcs as they came closer. The shaking of the horses and tiredness of his men affected their accuracy, but Link still saw orcs fall from the saddle as the two groups moved closer still. Switching to his sword he rode into the mass of boars culling riders and bowmen as the two groups clashed together. The fight was short as the orcs were outnumbered, and Link and the others soon moved on into the east after collecting their wounded. A few hours later they reached the east gate, the drawbridge dropping as they came close and Link led his exhausted men over it and into the town.

Riding through the streets the few inhabitants awake cheered as they moved past and when they reached the town square Link's spirits rose at the sight of Zelda who stood beside the fountain, fear and relief clearly visible in her eyes. Link turned to his men and said,

"well done men, we dealt them a sizeable blow in battle today and who knows how many of them the Gorons and the fire killed. Get to the barracks and get some sleep, you all need it. I know you're all exhausted, but the final battle will soon come. I think we'll be ok for now, so tonight, we dress our wounds and gather our strength for soon we will fight them again upon the plains and wipe them out utterly.

The troops and the few civilians in the square cheered, and Link dismounted as the men broke off. Zelda flew into his arms and held him close, sobbing uncontrollably into his shoulder. Link pulled her close, and did his best to soothe her, feeling relief that he and most of the men had survived the fighting. Zelda looked up at him and choked out,

"Link, you're alive, oh thank goodness. It was awful, the village burned and we could see the fire from here, I couldn't believe my eyes."

Link smiled at her and replied, "it's alright Zelda, my men and I set that fire on purpose, I knew that when we retreated, the orcs would chase us mercilessly and I couldn't have the village fall into orcish hands. So I had the whole town set to burn so that we could escape, the Gorons covered our retreat as well. All the orcs found when we retreated was burning ground and a merciless ambush, I almost feel sorry for them."

Zelda giggled slightly and then smiled at him and said, "come on Link, you need to rest, you need your strength for the final battle."

Link took her hand and led the way to the castle, where fresh food and drink, a hot bath and fresh clothes felt like heaven. Zelda led the way to her chambers, and soon afterwards Link was asleep as it had been another exhausting battle.

Link slept deeply and by the time he woke up the next morning he could see through the window that the sun was high in the sky. Turning to face Zelda he found her gone and the sheets were cold, indicating that she had been awake for some time. Getting up, he found his clothes and got dressed before making his way to the great hall. Zelda was waiting for him and she pulled him close and kissed him before saying.

"Morning Link, sorry I didn't wake you, but you were tired so I let you sleep. Don't worry, the orcs haven't come here, yet."

Link smiled and replied, "that's alright dear, I probably needed it, the fighting went all day yesterday and into the night with the last of those boars, and I think we've killed most of the orcs as it is, if we're very lucky, Urg might have got the message that we're not going to give up."

Zelda smiled and responded, "I doubt it, that orc won't stop until he's killed."

Link ate ravenously and then left the castle checking the walls and moving the people into the castle itself, before seeing to the lockdown of the town. Walking up to the wall he found Captain Hawkins and asked,

"any sign of them yet Captain? They ought to be here soon."

The Captain faced him and said, "no, which is a surprise, they didn't waste time at Kakariko village, that's still smoking by the way."

Link looked over the plains and could indeed see smoke still rising from the base of Death mountain where the village was, and no orcs beyond the corpses of the boar riders which lay in the field where they fell the previous night. Shrugging slightly he walked off and moved around the troops and siege weapons that had been installed, checking that everything had been prepared for the inevitable battle to come.

A few hours later, Link was sitting with Zelda in the castle when a junior officer rushed in clearly out of breath, Link frowned as he guessed what the man was going to say within a moment of seeing him, sure enough the man gasped out.

"Or.. ORCS Your Grace! An entire army of them on the plains, one of them is being carried on a huge palanquin."

Link looked calmly at the officer and said, "any siege equipment, or boars?"

The man spoke and said, "no boars, but they do have siege towers and a ram Your Grace."

Link smiled and said, "good, that will be helpful, go to Captain Hawkins and tell him to get our men to take up positions, I'll be along directly."

Zelda looked at him fearfully and said, "be careful Link, we're so close to ending this now, come back to me in one piece."

Link smiled at her and pulled her close before whispering, "it'll be alright, we know what we're dealing with and we've killed most of them already, by nightfall no orcs will be left alive on the plains of Hyrule unless they surrender."

He pulled her close and kissed her again before walking out of the room and changing into the new armour that had been forged for him. Leaving the castle he went back to the top of the wall and looked out at the orc army that was heading towards him and knew that soon Hyrule would once again be safe.


	7. Chapter 7

-1After the Twilight Fades

_Authors note: Thank you to all my regular reviewers for your opinions on this story, they've helped make it better overall and helped me improve in general. Don't worry I haven't got the heart to kill Link off, but that doesn't mean there won't be any death at all. I'm a bit of a romantic and I love good adventure/romance stories on paper, screen or fan fiction, and I hate it when the couple gets split up, (like in Prince Caspian, damn you Aslan!) Or where one half dies just before the end. With regard to this story, we move to the end of the war and some of the aftermath in this chapter, after I hope what will be considered another epic battle. Keep an eye out in the future for updates of my crossover fic, 'When Harry met Susan', if you like Harry Potter and Discworld. I thought it hadn't caught on, hence the lack of recent updates, but due to renewed interest I'm going to finish that story off when I finish this fic, which should have another 3-4 chapters in it._

Chapter 7: We Will Fight Them On the Plains

Link stood on top of the wall gazing out over the plains at the advancing orc army, clouds had blown in from the south covering Hyrule in a grey shroud as the two armies stared each other down. The orcs halted a few hundred metres from the moat and lined up in formation just as Links troops took their places, on the walls, behind the east gate and at the catapults and cannons waiting for the orcs to move. Link watched feeling increasingly puzzled as the orcs ranks staid still, and then felt his jaw drop as a few of them advanced including the one riding a palanquin, and as the party advanced, one of them began to wave a white flag. Link turned to Captain Hawkins who was standing beside him, the surprise clear on his face, and exclaimed.

"What in the goddesses names are they doing? They can't really be planning to surrender, can they?"

The Captain replied and said, "maybe they want to parley, I don't trust them, but we should hear them out at least."

Link shrugged and said, "I don't trust this either, but I agree with you, pass word to the men to be ready in case this is a trick."

The orders went around and the troops nocked arrows and loaded the catapults and cannons, waiting for treachery as Link ordered the drawbridge and gate to open. Riding out slowly with Captain Hawkins and a few of the high command Link approached the group of orcs and halted a few paces away. The orc riding the palanquin, who Link noticed was the most ornately armoured of all, wearing black plate mail, a matching helm and a blood red cloak, slowly dismounted it. He walked down a small set of stairs and onto the backs of the some of the orcs carrying the palanquin and onto the ground before opening his mouth and speaking.

"Come, Lysander, let us reason together, it would be a regrettable waste for you and your people to perish, because of the inability to see sense."

Link shrugged inwardly at the name he'd been called and replied, "let me guess, you must be, Urg. Why should we trust the words of an orc, when you slaughtered the Albionians without mercy."

Urg looked at Link, a mixture of arrogance and curiosity on his face and replied,

"the Albionians were a weak race and the weak do not deserve to survive. But you, Lysander Albert Norhansen von Albion, lead a proud and strong race even if you are an Albionian. You fight well for a human, and there is much we could share with each other."

Link frowned at the orc leader and said, "we've been sharing battle for the past few days, now what do you want now Urg?"

Urg looked at Link and said, "straight to the point, just like your family always was, I challenge you to a duel to the death, here upon the plains, the reward shall be total withdrawal from Hyrule and banishment for all time."

Link's frown deepened and he said, "and if I lose?"

The orc leader smiled viciously and said, "total surrender."

Link couldn't believe his ears and turned to the men he'd brought with him and spoke quickly, all agreeing that they had no time to consult Zelda and knew that either way the orcs probably wouldn't keep a fair bargain. Link also knew that if he refused he'd be labelled a coward by his men which would demoralize them for the coming battle and he'd need them at full strength. Turning to face Urg he said,

"we have terms, as long as you can vouch no interference from your high command."

The orc grinned and gestured to the other orcs standing nearby who took the palanquin away and Link ordered his men to back off as well, as the Hylians on the wall began cheering.

Turning to face Urg he drew his sword and shield and stepped into a guard pose a few paces away from Urg, and watched as the orc leader drew his sword and shield. Urg faced Link with bloodlust in his eyes and said,

"there is still a chance to surrender."

Link looked at the orc in an expression he remembered Midna using to Ganondorf and replied, "then go ahead."

Urg raced forward and jumped into the air swinging his sword in a downward arc screaming, "NEVER!"

At the top of his voice, and the duel began as Link stepped to the side and raised his shield blocking the stroke. Urg was an excellent swordsman and Link was forced to use all his skill, parrying the orcs savage thrusts and shield swipes as he tried to find a weakness in the orcs armour plates. Thrusting his shield forward, he managed to catch Urg on his cheek and knocked the orcs helm off and dazed him momentarily, taking advantage of the situation he swung his sword horizontally at the orcs head. But Urg managed to block the hit, and then swung diagonally at Links chest, forcing him to step back and parry the hit before counter striking upwards, but at that moment he managed to find a gap in Urgs armour and wounded him in the leg, causing the orc to cry out and the Hylians to cheer as their leader drew first blood. Urg came at him again, trying to use his height and bulk to overcome Link with brute force. However Link rolled around to the side and sent his sword in a horizontal sweep across Urgs back cutting a few connecting straps of the orcs breastplate. The angry orc just seemed to get faster and faster as they fought on and he seemed to use his shield more as a club rather than a defensive tool and soon forced Links helm from his head and opened a shallow cut on his cheek. Link used his improved vision field to his advantage and went on the offensive again, using his agility to out manoeuvrer Urg, and when the big orc did manage to disarm Link and knock him to the ground, Link scythed his opponents legs from under him and then struck the orcs wound with his fist as the startled leader fell.

Link then took his chance and got to his feet and found his sword, just as the big orc called out, "respite!"

Link backed away and walked over to Captain Hawkins as Urg went back to the other orcs who'd come with him, the Captain said to Link, "you're doing well Your Grace, a little bit more and you'll have him, even if they don't honour the terms the death will demoralise them."

Link grinned as his men cleaned the wound on his cheek, and then picked up his sword and shield and walked back out onto the arena as Urg came forward again. The fight resumed and Link could tell that his adversary was tiring and began to look for a way to end the fight cleanly, and soon enough Link parried a clumsy downward sweep and saw an opening and stabbed forward, dealing a wound to the orcs chest which while not lethal was enough to cause the orc to sink to his knees. Urg looked up at Link and mocked,

"what's the matter Your Highness, too scared to kill me?"

Link looked at Urg in pity and said, "you orcs never learn do you, you're more use to me alive, keep your life. But I am keeping Hyrule for the Hylians and giving Albion back to its people if any survived."

Link turned and began to walk towards his officers as the Hylians began cheering, but while Link had his back turned, an orc officer walked over to Urg and quickly stabbed him with a Hylian dagger, causing the wounded leader to slump to the ground dead, Link heard the orc officer shout out to the air.

"Treachery! They killed him, the humans murdered our leader! Death to the humans, leave none alive!"

Link turned and saw Urg on the ground and knew instantly that the battle was inevitable and after swiftly killing the orc officer he mounted Epona and raced back to the castle town as the orc leaders ran to their lines. As Link raced back into the castle town, a rumble of thunder shook the air and rain began to fall.

As the gate shut and the drawbridge closed behind him, Link ran back up to the top of the wall just as the orcs began to advance towards the castle town.

Getting back to his post on the wall, Link watched the orcs bearing down on the walls, siege towers sticking out of the mass of orcs like pillars as the orcs pushed the trundling edifices through the muddy field, he turned to his men and began to speak.

"Today, we fight to the finish, the orcs come to destroy us. We will not be moved and the orcs shall not take one step into the city while we defend her. We give no quarter, for you shall receive none from those hordes, For our country, and our Queen, we fight. Men of Hyrule, stand fast and make the enemy rue the day he decided to attack us."

Link drew his sword, the golden glow as bright as ever and raised it into the air, as the men began to cheer loudly. Link waited until the orcs and siege towers entered firing range and then turned to the men and ordered,

"open fire! Target siege equipment and large groups."

The order passed and with a series of thunks and explosions, cannon balls and rocks began to fly into the advancing orcs. Link watched as the projectiles fell in a deadly rain, felling orcs left and right and smashing into siege towers, cutting gaping holes through the rickety wooden structures, sending orcs flying. The men cheered as the orcs were knocked over by the flying projectiles, but Link knew that they weren't done yet and was proved right when the advancing orcs came close to the moat and drew crossbows. The orcs started firing up at the Hylian ranks on the wall, heavy bolts scything through the air cutting men down where they stood, Link winced as a bolt flew past and glanced off the plate mail protecting his arm.

Ordering his men to return fire, Link drew his bow and knocked an arrow. Drawing the string back he looked at the crowd of orcs at the edge of the moat and spotted the orc responsible for trying to kill him. He aimed carefully and sent the arrow straight into the orcs head cutting him down, the Hylian arrows flew into the mass of orcs and the enemy numbers plummeted further as the battle wore on all day, orc charges breaking on the walls like a green tide. The siege towers that had survived the cannons and catapults eventually reached the edge of the moat and Link ordered his men to draw swords, and watched as the orc bridges thumped onto the top of the walls and the crowd of orcs began to swarm over the gap. A melee broke out on the wall as orcs tried to storm it using their towers and ladders but they could never get enough onto the top and they fell in as steady a stream as the rain that fell from the heavens as the day wore on. The rain stopped late in the afternoon and Links men managed to throw bottles of burning oil into the towers setting them ablaze and stopping the stream of orcs coming onto the walls.

Link gazed out over the battlefield as a pause in the orc attack came as the twilight fell over the land of Hyrule, the pristine field was littered with dead orcs and splintered equipment and the ground was covered with scattered weapons and abandoned banners flapped in the breeze. There was still a mid sized group of orcs lingering just outside firing range and Link knew that they'd have to go out there to get them. Turning to Captain Hawkins he began to speak,

"we've nearly won, there can't be that many of them left now. But they seem to be hesitating, should we go down there and finish them?"

Captain Hawkins looked at him, the veteran soldier had fought like a tiger through the whole campaign and killed countless orcs through the days fighting and said.

"I'm not sure, they might have more in reserve and want us to do that. Hold on…. Your Grace, look, the air!"

Link looked where the amazed Captain was gazing towards and gasped in surprise along with his men as the very air ripped open. A column of humanoid shaped riders, much taller than Hylians wearing sleek light armour and flowing cloaks mounted on huge wolves rode in, and fell onto the orcs savagely. Link looked closely at one rider who seemed to be the leader, and saw despite the helm and armour waist length red hair and a face that he had only seen once but would recognize anywhere. He gasped, and turned to Captain Hawkins and said,

"get the men in formation, we've got reinforcements. We must help them, Cavalry to flank to the right, infantry to head down the centre. For Hyrule, lets finish this once and for all."

The men cheered as the order was passed and Link ran down and got onto Epona just as his troops lined up behind the drawbridge. It and the gate opened and the Hylians charged out onto the field shouting their battle cries into the twilight, Link urged Epona towards the battling wolf riders and orcs mowing down orcs left and right, his glowing sword breaking all weapons it faced. Link soon reached the leader of the wolf riders and shouted.

"Midna! You're here! How is this possible?"

The Queen of the Twili faced Link, one hand holding the reins of the enormous wolf she rode, the other holding a slim curved blade and replied.

"I couldn't let you and Zelda have all the fun now could I?"

Before Link could reply, Zelda herself trotted up to them on her own horse, holding her sword and wearing a specially made dress of chain mail and a gilded helm that Link had never seen her wear before. She held up a finger as Link made to speak and said,

"fight now, talk later."

Link shrugged, and the three leaders threw themselves back into the battle, leading their armies as they fought the remnants of the orcish horde, Links troops just as amazed as he was as all saw Zelda fight with a skill that none knew she possessed.

Soon enough with the weight of overwhelming numbers the last orc fell to Links blade and he turned to face the troops as well as Zelda and Midna and declared.

"Victory! We have victory, the hordes of Urg have been defeated. Hyrule is safe again!"

The sounds of cheering reached deafening levels as all around him, men began clapping and cheering. Link cleaned his sword and sheathed it, before dismounting and walking up to Urg's body. The orc leader laid where he'd fallen, the Hylian dagger embedded in his side. Something was glinting on the ground, and Link looked around and saw that a ring had fallen from a chain, which had been cleaved in two when Link's blade had hit it. He picked up the ring and examined it closely, it was a magnificent piece of work, too elegant to be the work of an orc smith. It had a square diamond in the centre as well as several tiny sapphires in a swirl around the central stone. There were markings on the band as well in elegant curving script, which were aged but still readable, which read.

"_For the dearest treasure of the Kingdom of Albion. I pledge myself, in body and soul until the end of eternity."_

Link felt confused about why Urg would carry this, but pocketed it, and took the dead orc leaders sword and helm before walking over to where Zelda and Midna were standing around and talking. Link dropped the sword and helm onto the ground in front of Zelda, before saying to her.

"Zelda my love, we have victory, Urg and his hordes have been vanquished and our homeland is again in safety."

Zelda beamed broadly at him before throwing her arms around his neck and kissing him.

Midna looked at the sight with a smile on her face and spoke as the two lovers parted and stood together, arm in arm.

"Congratulations, to you both, you make a lovely couple. If all the people in Hyrule look to you both as an example, you should be alright. While light and shadow cannot mix, it does not mean that they should never meet or work together. The goddesses agree, which is why I came here."

Link smiled at her and said, "thank you, and not just for the intervention which was timely, while in many ways we are worlds apart. When it comes to what's truly important, honour, bravery, loyalty to ones people and strength you and I are the same, I'm glad you approve of Zelda and I."

Midna looked straight at him, the orange eyes gleaming with a look of respect and replied.

"Link, you've become so strong since I met you, you've become a figure of great strength and courage, may you have many years of happiness with Zelda."

Zelda looked at Midna, the two Princesses seaming to communicate silently before Zelda spoke and said, "you have also grown strong Midna, you have learned the compassion you need to rule wisely. May your wisdom grace the Twili until the end of time."

Midna smiled and with a final wave led her army through the rent in the air before it closed permanently.

Link and Zelda waved her off and Link regrouped his soldiers and ordered them into the town as night began to fall, the townsfolk cheering as the men marched into the town square beneath a clear night sky. Zelda walked onto a platform in the square and held up her hands and began to speak.

"My people, tonight we stand victorious, for never have to many people owed so much to so few. Our valiant soldiers fought bravely to preserve freedom and have defeated the orcish hordes that intended to destroy us. Now, we have a new task ahead of us. Let us together rebuild our land so that we may all share in the new time of peace."

The crowd began cheering again with many shouting, "long live the Queen!"

Link silenced the crowd and began to speak,

"tonight we have won a great victory over the forces of darkness who once again tried to enslave our homeland. But let us not forget the price we paid for our freedom, never forget the sacrifice of those who gave their lives to save our homeland. Let today stand as a day of remembrance for all time so that we can remember what was done here today."

Everyone was silent as Link spoke with tears falling from many eyes, but as he finished the crowd clapped and began chanting his name.

Zelda gave a command for a giant party to be thrown immediately and the crowd began to disperse as Zelda Link back up to the castle. Link went up to his room and shrugged off the dirty armour and underclothes before sinking into a hot bath with a contented sigh as the hot water soothed his muscles. Link began scrubbing himself clean from the blood and gore that was all over him and then got out and dried himself, dressing in fresh clothes as he heard a bang from outside. He looked out his window and watched as the crowd in the town square began setting off fireworks and dancing around a giant bonfire that had been lit near the fountain, the sounds of happy people and the explosions of fireworks proving a nice contrast after the sounds of battle that he'd been hearing for days.

Link walked out his door and into the hall where he found Zelda looking as beautiful as ever, she smiled at him and kissed him again before leading the way down the stairs and out into the town square to where the party was in full swing. The townspeople and soldiers welcomed their leaders and Link and Zelda spent an enjoyable night feasting, drinking and dancing the night away acting like any other young couple should as they basked in the freedom of the wars end.

At one point Shad came over to Link as he was sitting down looking over at Zelda thoughtfully wile she was speaking to some of the town officials and said.

"Link, you look troubled, what bothers you?"

Link looked at the young scholar and said, "a few things Urg said on the battlefield, while we were talking he addressed me as Lysander Albert Norhansen von Albion. What's that supposed to mean?"

Shad gasped in shock and said, "that's a person, the house of von Albion was the royal family of Albion, from its founding, right until it fell to the orcs. Apparently at the end of the civil war when the orcs attacked the King and Queen fled, taking their son with them, who apparently was named Lysander, nobody knows what happened to them, but some folklore suggests they fled towards Ordon and were attacked on the way losing their last bodyguards and being gravely wounded themselves. Urg must have thought you are the son, you are the right age approximately."

Link frowned slightly and said, "everybody knows I'm an orphan, I don't remember anything about my family other than what I was told. I'm fairly sure they were Albionian refugees based on what Bo and the others told me but I don't know anything else. The other thing that's strange is that I found this ring on Urg, it's definitely Albionian because no orc could craft something so delicate, and the inscription on it says it's Albionian."

Link took the ring from his pocket and showed it to Shad, who looked at it carefully through an eyeglass and said,

"That's the ring of the Queen! It was always passed from mother to son in the Albionian royal family, the tradition was that the son would only give it to the woman he chose as his bride, why the orcs would keep this I cannot say."

Link shrugged and took the ring back before walking over to Zelda and after a short while they both left the party and walked back up to the castle where they were soon asleep as it had been an exhausting day and a long night and both looked forward to the new time of peace that had begun.


	8. Chapter 8

-1After the Twilight Fades

_Authors note: Thanks to all of those who've been with this story since the beginning, a lot of people have been putting this fic on story alert and have given good reviews which is nice as it shows you love it. I'm happy people appreciated Midna's cameo appearance in the last chapter, I thought that it would be really cool for the final battle to have her come and help fight. More consistent reviews would be nice but I'm happy with the levels I've gotten for this fic so far as it has become one of the most popular out of the three I've written in recent times. We move onto the aftermath of the war and the beginning of the next phase in my interpretation of Link's fate, be warned, major fluff alert._

Chapter 8: The New Dawn for Hyrule

After the exertions of the long day and night of finally defeating the orcs, Link woke up late the next morning and gazed around at his surroundings as the light streamed through the window in Zelda's bedchamber. He felt a vast sense of relief now that the war had finally ended and Hyrule was safe but also was curious as to what to do next now that peace had come to the land. Link felt Zelda shift in her sleep beside him and he gazed down at her, smiling as he beheld her sleeping soundly beside him, her arms holding him in a loving grip. Link reached over and tucked a loose strand of her hair behind her ear and saw a smile form on her face, though she did not wake. Zelda had been a pillar of strength to the people throughout the war and then at the final battle had kept her word and took up arms personally with great skill which surprised Link as he had never seen her fight with a sword. He knew that now the war had ended he wanted to marry her but realised that they still had a lot of work to do in order to move forward from the dark times of deranged wizards and bloodthirsty orcs and embrace the new age of peace. Getting out of bed, Link walked over to the window and gazed outwards, the sky was perfectly clear with not a single cloud shrouding the land and the window giving a clear view of the town and the eastern field where the battle had been fought. Link gazed at the town and watched the people go about their business with the square and the markets back to their usual bustle. Then he gazed down at the fields and felt his heart sink as his eyes beheld the devastation. Even from his vantage point high in the castle keep, he could see that the green field had been cratered and scorched and was strewn with the bodies of the dead. Sighing slightly, Link turned away and got back into bed and felt Zelda's arms encircle him.

Zelda woke up a few moments later and looked up at him with a mixture of love and sadness in her eyes and spoke.

"Link my love, what is it? You seem sad, tell me what troubles you?"

Link sighed and replied, "While we've won the war, we paid a heavy price for our freedom, too many good men died to save our country."

Zelda smiled sadly at him, pulled him close to her and whispered, "and Hyrule will never forget their sacrifice, they knew the risks of going to war and it isn't your fault."

Link knew she was right and kissed her softly for a moment before saying, "I know, but it still hurts."

Zelda held him close to her and Link felt his anxiety leave him as be basked in Zelda's love and warmth and once again marvelled that she had chosen to be with him of all people, he looked at her and said.

"We have much to do, now that our homeland is safe, we can rebuild and make a new age for Hyrule, but first we should go to the outlying regions and tell them the wars over."

Link felt Zelda nod against his chest and a short while later the two of them got up and got ready for the new day. After a good breakfast and a few meetings with some of the civic officials the two of them mounted their horses and rode towards the south gate. The crowds in the market stall were cheering at the sight of them and many familiar faces were shouting their messages of support.

Leaving the city, Link and Zelda rode south across the field which was beautiful beneath the clear blue sky, no monsters disturbing the mornings tranquillity as they rode through the green meadows. Reaching Faron woods a few hours later they rode past the lantern oil salesman who once again got to his feet and touched his forelock as they rode up the path towards Ordon. They soon reached the village and Link and Zelda dismounted their horses outside Link's house and walked into the centre of the village arm in arm. The village was quiet with few people outside and nobody noticed them arrive, but soon enough as they stepped onto the bridge over the small creek in the middle of the village, Colin walked out onto the road outside his families house and caught Links eye, and then shouted.

"Link, and Princess Zelda, you're back? What happened to the orcs?" I thought they were on a rampage in the east."

Before Link could speak, more and more people came out of their houses and spotted the young couple, murmuring breaking out amongst the villagers before Link held his hands up for silence and began to speak.

"My friends, today myself and Zelda bring you good news, the war is finally over at long last."

The crowd began cheering and Link and Zelda waited until it died down before Link continued,

"yesterday evening, the Hylian army fighting alongside the Twili Royal guard and Midna the Queen of the Twili herself, defeated the last regiments of the orcish horde on the eastern plains of Eldin outside of Hyrule castle town. Now, we must all do our utmost to rebuild our land and make the most of the new age of peace."

The crowd roared in approval of Link's words and Illia ran up and threw her arms around him, hugging him tightly before drawing away and speaking.

"You've done it Link! You've finally saved us all from the hordes, what will you do now?"

Link spoke to his long time friend, who'd always been like a sister to him and said,

"well now, the outlying communities need to be told the wars over, and then there is something I need to do for myself, and then we'll have a coronation to plan"

Link and Illia chatted for a few more minutes until the crowd began to disperse and Link and Zelda spent the day in Ordon catching up with old friends and then spending the evening with Bo who had organised a feast, inviting most of the village to share it. After dinner everyone was sitting around at the mayors dining table when Link asked him for a private word. They walked outside and Bo said to him.

"What's this about Link?"

Link looked at the beefy man who'd been the village authority figure for years and said.

"I want to propose to Zelda, but before I can do that, I need to know the truth about my family and I was wondering what you know?"

Bo looked surprised, but happy as he looked at Link and said,

"you both deserve every happiness and I understand why you want the truth about yourself. Let me think…. Yes I remember now, it was about 16 years ago, I was out hunting in Faron woods with Rusl, way out in the east near the temple when two people came staggering up to us with one of them carrying a baby, which was you."

Rusl and I were shocked, because the couple were covered in blood and looked to be injured pretty badly, so we walked over to them and tried to help them as much as we could, but there wasn't a lot we could do, they both wore fine clothes and seemed like important people which was really odd."

Link looked at him surprised and said, "so what happened to them?"

Bo looked sad and said, "the woman beckoned me to come closer and told me to take you, but before she could say anything else, she died of her wounds. Rusl spoke to the man but couldn't get much out of him other than that they both had come from Albion trying to save you from the orcs, had lost their bodyguard and were injured at the eastern edge of the wood by more orcs that they managed to kill."

Link felt shocked and said to Bo, "my goodness, I had no idea, I'd better talk to Rusl about this."

Bo looked at him with a look of sympathy on his face and said, "you look after that Princess of yours now Link, she's a fine lady and will be a loving wife for you, but always remember that you must always try and work together to do the best you can in life."

Link smiled and thanked Bo, before walking in and finding Rusl and taking him back outside, he faced the man who had been an inspiration while growing up and said.

"Rusl, I've been trying to trace what happened to my family and Bo told me you were there the day I was found, what happened to my parents"

Rusl looked at him with a look of surprise and said, "your dad told me that he and his wife had fled the orcish invasion in Albion and that they were the last members of a noble family. Bo and I buried them both in a grave not too far to the east of the Forest temple."

Link smiled and said, "thanks Rusl, I need to know so I can propose to Zelda with a clear conscience."

Rusl smiled and said, "your dad had a letter on him which he told me to give you when the time was right. I forgot I had it until just now, I'll go fetch it for you."

Rusl ran off and into his hut and a few moments later he came out and passed a envelope to Link, it looked aged slightly but it still had a slight stain which looked like blood. Link slit it open and unfolded the note inside and read:

_To our beloved son and heir Lysander_

_Son, if you are reading this letter, then your mother and I were killed when we tried to flee our homeland and you were saved somehow. We are so sorry for that and that we weren't there to watch you grow up. It is our wish that you grow up to be a better person than us and that you do not make the same mistakes which led to our oblivion. Our once noble nation of Albion has crumbled to dust due to petty infighting amongst the people which weakened us and made us sitting ducks for the orc attack. We do not ask for vengeance for ourselves or our people , only that you live a good life and do your utmost to protect those who cannot protect themselves from those who would do them harm, for that is the oath of all who'd destiny it is to lead their people. Should you ever return to our homeland, build a better future for all who live there and rule wisely and with justice at the side of a good and kind woman. Know that your mother and I will always love you and are watching you from wherever we are._

_Love always_

_Your parents_

_Susan Elizabeth Beatrix von Albion _

_Daphnes Henry William von Albion_

Link gasped as he read the letter and a few tears fell from his eyes as he finished reading the words his parents had written in their own hand about him, their son, he made no attempt to wipe them away. Zelda came out without him noticing and rested her hands on his shoulder and turned him around and drew him into a hug. Link felt slightly awestruck in the aftermath of reading the letter and said.

"16 years and I had no idea, and now I find exactly what happened and why I ended up here, it's awful what happened to them. Why didn't anybody say anything?"

Zelda held him close, her warmth helping soothe him and whispered,

"It's alright Link, you'll make them proud and I'm sure they're already proud of what you've done, your battles to save us liberated not only Hyrule, but Albion as well and in time we will unify the two lands and thus fulfil your parents wishes. If Rusl had given you the letter before now, you would have gone there and tried to kill the orcs single handed, and you know that would have been folly."

Link sighed and said, "I know, but after everything else, now this? I feel the weight of two kingdoms expectations."

Zelda smiled and whispered, "that's the price of Royal title I'm afraid."

Link's eyes widened as she said this and Zelda giggled at the sight and said,

"come on Link, we should tell the others what you've found."

Zelda led Link into the room and Link made to speak after everyone quietened down and said.

"Everyone, Rusl gave me a letter tonight which was from my father, it proves what many people have undoubtedly suspected over the years. Yes, I am the exiled Prince of Albion, Lysander Albert Norhansen von Albion."

Everyone gasped at the revelation and Link held up his hands, "while I may be a Prince, this changes nothing as far as I'm concerned as Ordon will always be my hometown and everyone here will as always be like family to me. In fact the only change I can see from this, is that Albion and Hyrule will one day merge to become one."

Everyone clapped and cheered and spoke lovingly with their adopted son for the rest of the night.

The next day Link and Zelda rode towards Death mountain to go see the Gorons, but when they reached Kakariko village they both gasped in shock at the sight. The neat village nestled at the base of the mountain had been reduced to ashes with no trace of its existence or the Hylian defences remaining other than a few piles of charred wood, of ashes, and bones and twisted metal and the shells of the broken buildings lying where the village and the orc advance had been.

Link faced Zelda and said, "by the goddesses the village must have burnt fiercely, there's nothing left at all. I hope the residents can forgive me, for it was I who gave the order to burn the village."

Zelda trotted up beside him and said, "of course they will, you had no choice, and the village was already damaged from the ravages of Ganondorf. We'll have it rebuilt better than before soon enough."

Link smiled and they kept going up to the rocky path towards the top of the mountain, following it, they soon reached the home of the Gorons where they received a rousing welcome. Darbus, the Goron chief walked over to him and said,

"well done human, you fought well and have saved our land from the orcs. I have rarely seen such courage and determination from a human."

Link looked up at the big Goron chief who's efforts during the Ganondorf occupation and the orc wars had been invaluable and said,

"I couldn't have done it without you, you and your troops bought us enough time to escape and get to the castle town to set up our final defence."

Darbus smiled wickedly and said, "I couldn't leave all the fun for you humans, we felt like bashing a few orcs because they've always annoyed us more than humans."

Zelda stepped forward and added, "the kingdom of Hyrule will never forget your courage Darbus, you and your forces fought valiantly. I look forward to establishing closer ties between humans and Gorons in the future."

Darbus looked at Zelda with respect in his eyes and said, "Zelda, you lead you're nation well. If all humans look to you and Link as an example then the future is bright for both our peoples."

Link and Zelda smiled and nodded at Darbus and stayed at the Goron village for a few hours to watch as the Gorons staged a boxing tournament for Link and Zelda's entertainment with Link and Zelda cheering the combatants on along with the rest of the audience and watching with an awestruck look as Darbus went up against the big Goron guard from the mines and knocked him out cold after 5 rounds.

After leaving the Gorons, Link and Zelda moved north across the plains, passing by the village entrance which still bore the scars of war, riding across the plains, Link was amazed to see groups of people already starting to head towards Kakariko village. When they reached the bridge of Eldin, they noticed that it was a hive of construction with crews building scaffolds and bringing in piles of wood and stone to repair the structure. The workers paused and bowed, and the soldiers protecting them formed a guard of honour as they rode over the ancient bridge waving at the groups. Riding north, they travelled through the pass and arrived at Zoras domain just as night began to fall, making their way through the caves they soon reached the throne room and found Rallis sitting on his throne, Link stepped up to the recently crowned monarch of the Zoras and said.

"Your Majesty, we bring you good news, the war is over. The orcish threat from the east has been vanquished and Hyrule is safe once again, what's more we have liberated Albion from the clutches of the orcs."

Rallis smiled at them and all the Zoras in earshot of Link and Zelda began cheering at the news, Rallis looked at them and said,

"congratulations on your victory, may you both enjoy many years of happiness in the new age of peace."

Zelda stepped closer to Link and spoke to the assembled Zoras and said, "we also found that Link actually originally came from Albion and is the exiled heir to the Albionian throne."

The Zoras gasped and Link felt himself blush slightly at the reaction and said,

"While I may be a Prince, it changes little as far as I can see, I'm still the same man that fought for Hyrule, the only difference I can see is that it will mean the union of Albion and Hyrule."

The Zoras all reacted happily to the revelation and threw a great feast for Link and Zelda who spent the night enjoying themselves as another tribe basked in the victory.

Next morning Link and Zelda got up and freshened themselves up for the new day and took the path to Snowpeak mountain. Once again they began the long ascent through the knee deep snow under the clear mountain sky. Following the path recommended by Yeto made the going much easier but even so twilight was falling by the time they reached the summit. They found the yetis in their usual spot near the tree and Link walked up to them and said.

"Yeto, Yeta, I bring good news, the war in the lowlands has ended and the orcs have been defeated. So your mountain is safe once again."

Yeto looked down at Link and replied,

"Link, Zelda, you return to mountain again? Good to see you, well done fighting greenskin menace."

Link and Zelda smiled and Zelda continued, "Link was finally able to defeat them on the plains in the lowlands a few days ago."

Yeta looked at the pair of them and said, "what you do now orcs gone?"

Link looked at Yeta and replied, "the kingdoms of men need to be rebuilt from the ravages of war, not only do we have Hyrule to rebuild but also Albion."

Yeto looked at the sky and said, "we should head to house no? It getting dark now, how about dinner?"

Link and Zelda nodded and followed the two yetis down the sled run to the old fortress overlooking the mountain pass to the land of the dwarves. Yeta once again cooked a delicious meal with Link and Zelda updating the two yetis on recent events and their hopes for the future.

The next morning Link and Zelda went back down the mountainside and left via Zoras domain, Link spoke to Zelda and said,

"There's one more person we should go see, remember Saria the forest spirit? We should go see her and find out if there's anything else to worry about."

Zelda looked surprised and said, "I can't believe he forgot her, I agree wholeheartedly my love. She warned us about the orcs, so she should know they're gone"

Link smiled and led the way through the green fields of Hyrule and by nightfall they arrived back in Faron woods. Taking the path around the gorge they found themselves in the sacred grove which looked as beautiful as ever and still seemed to possess its sense of ancient magic as they walked amongst the trees and ruins beneath the clear night sky. Stepping into the ruined temple they strolled into the pedestal chamber and stood before the master sword which laid in the pedestal in which it had reposed for millennia until Link had drawn it to save Hyrule. Link gazed about remembering his last time here and was curious as to how to go about summoning Saria.

He called out to the spirit but did not see the distinct form of the forest guardian but then remembered what had prompted her appearance last time as he looked at Zelda. Link guessed that Saria would not appear for the same reason so he began to think what might bring the spirit to them, and then he remembered the ring he took from Urg. He felt himself blush as he gazed over at Zelda and realised how wonderful the ring would look on Zelda's left ring finger. Link knew he wanted to marry Zelda and thought now was as good a time as any to ask her spirit or no spirit, he reached into his pocket and drew the ring out and gazed at it, Zelda noticed him and said.

"What are you doing Link? Are you alright? You look pale."

Link swallowed nervously and said, remember the last time we were here, what actually drew Saria out? There's something I've been meaning to ask you, but with the war and all, I never got the chance. But now is as good a time as any to ask even if Saria doesn't come out"

Zelda looked curiously at him but Link noticed a gleam in her eyes that he'd seen a few times before and guessed she was picking up on what he was trying to say. Zelda beamed at him and said,

"I think I know what you're going to ask Link and yes, of course I will, I love you, and I couldn't think of anything I would love more than to marry you."

Link gasped and drew Zelda into his arms and spun her around before kissing her, drawing away when the need for oxygen became to great and then slid the ring onto Zelda's finger before saying.

"My dear Zelda, I promised myself at the battle of Kakariko that I'd propose once the war ended. I love you and I want to be with you forever, I was just a bit frightened as I wanted to do this properly. Together we will bring peace and happiness to the kingdoms."

Zelda was sobbing slightly and the pair shared another tender embrace, only for history to repeat itself when they heard soft giggling from behind them.

Link and Zelda turned still holding each other at arms length to find Saria looking at them with a smile on her face, the young guardian of the grove spoke in a calm loving voice and said.

"Lysander, Zelda, once again you move me with the pureness of your love. Such tenderness from mortals is a rare thing to behold and I rarely see anything more beautiful. I believe you wished to summon me to inform me of the wars end? I congratulate you on your victory, Albion and Hyrule are now free and will enjoy a new time of peace under your rule for I foresee a shining future for you both, go forth Lysander, Hero of the eastern realms and you Zelda, Princess of Destiny. Lead your people to greatness and always remember to stay true to each other and your people."

Link and Zelda smiled and said, "we will, and thanks for not showing up when I called you."

Saria and Zelda giggled and the newly engaged couple left the temple and walked back towards Ordon to begin the new phase of the restoration of the kingdoms knowing that the seeds of the future had been scattered.


	9. Chapter 9

-1After the Twilight Fades

_Authors note: Thank you all for the continued support of this fic, reviews, favourite story links and people putting this on story alert are all good ways of showing support and are appreciated. This chapter has a lot to cover and will be quite long as it is the last main chapter before the epilogue. If you like fluff, you'll be getting plenty in this chapter so read and enjoy but don't expect citrus on the wedding night as I'm sticking to the teen rating. I hope everyone has enjoyed reading this story as much as I have writing it. Keep an eye out in future for updates of my Harry Potter and Discworld crossover fic, 'when Harry met Susan', as that will be my next fic to finish. I'm also really sorry about the delay in getting this up but I've had a massive case of writers block on this one as I wanted it to be really well polished before posting, not to mention the fact that my final semester at University and a job taking most of my time._

Chapter 9: The Rising of the Phoenix

Link woke up early the next morning feeling an overwhelming sense of change to come as he sat up in bed lost in thought over all that had taken place recently, the journey with Midna, serving the realm as it's protector and then fighting in the war against bloodthirsty orcs. Link gazed around his room and contemplated how much had changed in such a short period of time as it seemed to him at that moment that only yesterday he was waking up in this same room to a life of herding goats and concerning himself only with the safe delivery of the gift to the Royal family and the petty thieving of the local monkey population, the thought of adventures and leadership mere dreams. The sunlight streamed through the windows illuminating his hut and as he lay there thinking of all that had transpired. He felt himself being pulled down by a now familiar pair of soft feminine hands and found himself facing a beaming Zelda who snuggled into his chest. Link smiled as his thoughts turned to Zelda, while he always knew that eventually he'd probably get married he never in his wildest dreams believed it would be to the heir to the throne herself. Link felt himself smile even more as his mind replayed the events from last night at the sacred grove where he and Zelda had become engaged . Zelda kissed him lovingly and held him tight, the look in her eyes saying more to him than any words could at that moment as the two lovers shared their joy of being engaged with no threats of invasion of dark lords hanging over their heads. Link grinned broadly at the lovely Princess and after a long moment and spoke softly to her.

"My dearest Zelda, I really can't find words to describe how happy I am now. I always knew I'd probably end up getting married, but never, not even in my wildest dreams did I imagine that this would happen to me. If someone had told me, even a day before Ordon was attacked that all this would happen to me, I would have laughed very hard and called them insane."

Zelda seemed to beam even more if that were possible, the love pouring off her seemed almost tangible in the air and she finally managed to speak after a long moment.

"Oh Link, While I always knew marriage was inevitable for me, I never thought it would be for love. Arranged marriages are common amongst Royal circles, but meeting you was the best thing that ever happened to me. I love you so much Link, and now we can be together, forever, with nothing stopping us."

Link wished that he could stay like this forever, simply laying in Zelda's arms but knew that they'd have to get up and said.

"As much as I wish we could stay like this forever, we have so much to do. The Kingdom must be told of our engagement and we must start planning the wedding, and there's your coronation."

Zelda sighed and said, "I know how you feel and I agree, I wish we could just be together, just us with no expectations."

Link gently caressed her and whispered, "we will find time soon my dear, but now we have a Kingdom to run."

Zelda giggled and the pair of them got up and got ready for the day before walking outside to face the Ordonians.

Making their way into town beneath the clear morning sun there were few villagers about. The children were playing by the creek and Rusl, Uli and Romilda were in their usual spot by the bridge, the tranquil morning reminding Link of many peaceful days from before it all began that day when orcs attacked him and Illia. The mornings peace was soon shattered moments later when Beth spotted the pair of them as they strolled past the shop. The excitable girl came up to them and said,

"Link, Your Highness, you're back!"

Beth's voice drew the other villagers and Link felt himself blush as murmuring broke out amongst the crowd at the sight of them. Bo came out and said,

"Link, Princess Zelda, good to see you again, you should have told us you were coming."

Link swallowed, blushed slightly and said to the crowd, "err, good morning everyone, Zelda and I went to visit the sacred grove to see the guardian spirit there, it was too late to ride back to the castle afterwards, so we stayed at my house."

He found continuing difficult and felt himself getting even more nervous, Zelda nudged him and he continued on.

"We saw the spirit and while we were there, we came to an understanding."

The villagers were looking curious and then Illia spotted the ring on Zelda's hand, gasped and said.

"Link, oh my goodness, did you propose? That's an engagement ring!"

Link went bright red and nodded nervously as the crowd gasped and then began clapping and cheering loudly and then Zelda addressed the crowd.

"Good morning all, it is wonderful to return to Ordon, today we bring wonderful news. Link and I are indeed engaged and intend to marry as soon as we can."

The crowd went wild, Link was amazed at the reaction from the overjoyed Ordonians as they converged on them and even years later always remembered how the villagers hoisted them onto their shoulders and carried them to Bo's house where a party was soon in full swing with messengers being sent around the surrounding countryside bringing the local farmers to join the festivities where all were happily speaking of the upcoming nuptials and pledged to attend the ceremony. The party wound down around midday when Link and Zelda were finally able to extricate themselves from the Ordonians and rode off towards Hyrule castle town.

Reaching it at dusk, Link and Zelda came in from the south as the crowds at the market began to break up for the day, a few people noticed them as they rode and murmuring broke out as Link and Zelda rode into the town, and after a long day Link and Zelda were grateful to reach the castle. Next morning, Link and Zelda went into the great hall where a few civic officials and some members of the army were eating their breakfast.

Leading Zelda to the head of the table a few murmurs broke out amongst the diners as they noticed the ring. Zelda addressed the crowd and told them all of the engagement and after breakfast was quickly taken aside by a large group of giggling women. Link sighed as he watched his bride to be walk off and turned to General Hawkins who was sitting nearby with a smile on his scarred face.

The veteran soldier who had been promoted after the war smiled at Link and said, "I know how you feel Link, you just want to be with her and wonder what in the goddesses name she needs all those women for. I felt the same way when I got married, don't worry, just do what needs to be done and soon you'll have all the time in the world."

Link smiled at the older man and said, "thanks General, would you be my best man? You were there through the whole war and I think you should. I'll get some of the Ordonians to be groomsmen one Zelda tells me how many I'll need."

The General smiled and replied, "of course I will, now we'd better go see what the women want us to do."

Link spent the next few weeks making arrangements along with Zelda for the wedding which was also going to include Zelda's coronation. It was going to be held in the town square in Hyrule castle town in the early spring, while unorthodox, all had agreed that the populace needed a chance to see their rulers and share in the joy of the wedding.

As plans progressed however something unexpected occurred one morning while Link was taking audiences when Zelda was being fitted for her dress, when a ragged group of men was shown into the throne room. Link watched them come close to him and one of them who seemed to be the leader bowed low and said.

" Hail Lysander, heir of Daphnes, and Queens consort of Hyrule. We come to swear allegiance, representing the survivors of the orcish occupation of our land."

Link looked surprised that any of his people had survived the invasion and replied,

"Well met good sirs, I must say I am surprised anybody survived the orcish occupation. I have faced them on the field of battle and can personally relate to their ferocity and malice. I look forward to uniting the two lands and hope that Zelda and I can fully restore that which was destroyed. A lifetimes work I fear, but one that will give satisfaction. How many people do you represent?"

The men before him looked grim and appeared to have led a harsh life, but the leader spoke and said, "we speak for approximately 2000 men, women and children your Highness. Upon the invasion we fled and formed a rebellion and fought the orcs for years, but there was always too many of them to try and drive them out completely. We admire your courage for defeating them, but didn't know of your campaign until recently as we were operating far to the north of the gate of Eldin, but found out when we noticed that almost all of the orcs had left the country. We fought the rest off and have begun to rebuild our nation. However we'll need more men, building materials and soldiers to carry on, and eventually we'll need more settlers. "

Link smiled and said, "excellent, I will send what aid I can in time and will despatch troops to assist in securing the country. Hyrule and Albion shall unite by mine and Zelda's marriage, and I look forward to the day when I can visit my homeland and see it restored."

The men thanked Link and bowed low before leaving and Link felt renewed vigour as he worked hard on the wedding preparations which were getting more and more complicated by the day. A regiment of troops were despatched to Albion a few days after the Albionian pledge of allegiance and soon began to assist in the long task of rebuilding the shattered realm.

Time passed and before long the day of the wedding dawned, Link had spent the night at his house in Ordon and woke up feeling very nervous and slightly ill as in a few hours he would finally marry Zelda. Getting up, he freshened himself up and got dressed into his wedding finery which consisted of dark breeches, a white tunic with gold embroidery featuring the crests of Hyrule and Albion, dark boots and a purple cloak with gold fastenings. On his head, he wore the crown of Albion which had been recovered from the ruins of the capital and given to Link by the settlers returning to the region. Link looked around his room knowing that it would be the last time he would ever see it as a bachelor and nervously stepped outside and climbed down where he found an open topped carriage waiting for him along with a ceremonial guard.

General Hawkins, Colin and Rusl stood waiting for him and looked at him sympathetically as they saw the nervous look and pale complexion on his face. Rusl spoke up and said,

"I know how you feel now Link, every groom in history gets nervous on his wedding day, when I married Uli, I felt the same way, believe me."

Link looked over at Rusl and said, "true, but not many people get to marry a Princess who will also be crowned Queen at the same time."

General Hawkins smiled at Link and said, "don't worry about it, once you get there you'll be fine. Just don't forget your lines and be there for Her Majesty in good times and bad and you'll do great, now lets get you over there."

Link shrugged and got into the carriage and sat down before General Hawkins, Rusl and Colin followed him in. The coach and the ceremonial guard set off and followed the road through Faron Woods and out onto the fields before making the short trip towards the castle town. Link felt ever more nervous as the coach got closer and closer to the city and his bride to be, he realised that even when he had fought against Ganondorf and Urg he didn't feel this afraid. The coach passed through the south gate to a scene unimaginable to Link as the city came into clear view beneath the fine spring day. A band began to play as the coach passed through the marketplace and what looked like an entire regiment were lining the roads as the coach travelled through the streets. Crowds of people were cheering, throwing rose petals and waving flags as they moved and soon they arrived at the town square where rows of benches had been set up and flowers, flags and ribbons had been strung from every surface. Link could hardly recognise the place as he got out of the coach and walked towards the fountain with Rusl, General Hawkins and Colin following alongside. An altar had been placed in front of the fountain and the High priest of Din stood waiting for him. Time seemed to slow to a crawl as the benches filled with guests and Link stood waiting for his bride, straining to see her as he watched the castle gates which were shut, but before long the gates were thrown open and the band began to play again announcing the arrival of the bride.

Link watched as a coach came out of the gate and travelled the short distance to the end of the rows of seats and stopped and felt his jaw drop and tears fall from his eyes as he saw Zelda get out. Link couldn't believe his eyes as he gazed at Zelda, she wore a beautiful white dress of an elegant design which looked simply stunning on her and a long veil secured with a jewelled tiara. Zelda carried a bouquet of white roses and standing with her were Illia, Beth and Luda who also wore white and the mayor of the city who wore his ceremonial robes.

The mayor led Zelda down the aisle while Illia helped with the train and Beth and Luda scatted flower petals, and before long the bridal party reached the altar where the portly looking mayor stepped to one side whispering, 'good luck."

As he passed

Zelda beamed at Link and Link felt his eyes water as he gazed back at Zelda, but before he could say anything the High priest bade them to kneel, facing each other, they did so and Illia took a long cloth and wrapped it around their outstretched hands. The band and the choir began to sing hymns and after the last note the High Priest began a sermon on the cycles of life and how recent events seem to foretell the coming of a new age to the land led by Zelda and Link washing away the darkness just past. Link barely heard a word as his eyes were fixed on the two sapphire pools that belonged to his bride, but before long the High Priest turned to Link and said.

"Do you Lysander Albert Norhansen Von Albion take Zelda, Elizabeth Beatrix Hyrule to be your lawfully wedded wife? To protect her and to hold her, in sickness and in health for richer or poorer as long as you both shall live?

Link looked deep into Zelda's intense sapphire gaze and said determinedly, "I will."

The High Priest then turned to Zelda and said,

"Do you Zelda, Elizabeth Beatrix Hyrule take Lysander Albert Norhansen Von Albion to be your lawfully wedded husband? To protect him and to hold him, in sickness and in health for richer or poorer as long as you both shall live?

Zelda looked at Link, a look of pure love in her eyes and said, "I will."

The High Priest bade them to stand and read their vows and then called upon the goddesses to bless the union and then said the words Link had been waiting for him to say the whole time when he finally said.

"I decree by the powers invested in me that they be man and wife together."

Illia took the cloth from Link and Zelda's hands and took the veil and tiara from Zelda's head before Link took Zelda into his arms and kissed her bringing a loud cheer from the crowd. They broke apart and Link stood beside his new wife with his arm around her waist as the High Priest addressed her and said,

"Zelda, Elizabeth Beatrix Hyrule , do you vow to protect the people of this land and to lead all who dwell in it wisely and justly as those who have come before have done?"

Zelda faced the priest and said, "I will."

"Then by the powers invested in me by the goddesses, Din, Farore and Nayru I crown thee, Queen Zelda the second, may you rule wisely Your Majesty and lead our realm to prosperity."

The High Priest lowered the crown onto Zelda's head and then spoke to the crowd, "The King is dead, long live the Queen."

The chant spread like wildfire through the crowd as everyone in attendance began to shout, "long live the Queen."

Bells in the castle began to toll and Link led Zelda up the aisle as the crowd cheered and helped her into the carriage that stood waiting. As the carriage set off, Zelda threw her bouquet into the air which flew in a gentle arc and landed in Illia's arms. Link smiled at the sight of one of his oldest friends blushing like a sunset. The carriage travelled through the streets of the city as part of a procession so that the populace could see their new Queen, and Link was in awe as he sat beside his wife waving to the crowd as he had never seen so many people as it seemed like the whole population of Hyrule had turned out to see them as the procession passed by crowds of cheering citizens.

Eventually the coach travelled into the castle gates and Link got out and helped his beaming bride to follow and led her into the great hall where the guests stood waiting.

Everyone clapped and cheered and a line of people soon formed to congratulate them and among the first was a cloaked and hooded individual. Link was apprehensive at the sight but when they reached the front the cloak was removed to reveal Midna's smiling face, Link relaxed and said calmly.

"Midna, you came, I thought you couldn't return after last time."

The Queen of the Twili smiled at him and Zelda and said, "after all that was done it seems that the Goddesses have judged us to have atoned for our crimes and have allowed us limited passage between the worlds. They have created a portal between our two realms out in the desert and will allow freedom of movement. However we cannot linger in this realm for long periods as the light is harsh on us. But still, I look forward to closer ties between our people in the future."

Link smiled at his one time companion and Zelda spoke, "Indeed we shall look forwards to closer ties as well. I'm glad you could be here to share this day with us."

The two Queens conversed and Link smiled at thought that the Twili had been atoned. The line of congratulating guests kept coming and Link greeted old friends such as the Ordonians and some of his army officers after Midna had moved along. After the banquet, a large white layer cake was brought in and Link and Zelda cut it together to applause and a shower of confetti and fed small pieces of it to each other.

The band began to play and Link led Zelda onto the dance floor and into a waltz, his nervousness of the morning lost as he swept his bride around the floor while the crowds of guests began to slowly fill the space around them as they danced to the stately music the band was playing, and at the end of the song Link pulled Zelda close and kissed her again causing the crowd to clap. But then something Link hadn't expected happened when Midna came over at the beginning of the next song and took him on to the floor. Link was surprised but noticed Zelda was smiling and guessed she didn't mind and took Midna's waist and began to dance to the new song leading the Queen of Twilight around the dance floor. Link noticed that Midna was a graceful dancer and he enjoyed every moment of the new dance as it felt wonderful to have his old friend with him sharing his wedding day.

The feasting, dancing and carousing went on all day and well into the night with Bo, Rusl, General Hawkins, the mayor, Midna, Illia and Telma all making speeches congratulating the happy couple and wishing them well.

Link and Zelda were sitting by themselves content in the knowledge of their marriage with the new Queen resting in Links lap with Link gently holding her close running his hands down her sides, Zelda leaned close to him and whispered.

"Link, I think we've been taking care of our guests for long enough now. I think we should call it a night, and find some time for ourselves."

Link smiled, but then turned bright red as his thoughts turned to the wedding night to come, Zelda giggled at the look on his face and hopped off his lap and held out her hand. Link took it and got up, leading the way through the castle to the master suite, Link picked Zelda up and she giggled loudly as he carried her into the room kicked the door shut and put her down on the bed.

Link removed his boots, cloak and crown and took Zelda into his arms and kissed her hungrily and felt her melt into him as he deepened the kiss and ran his arms up and down her back and began to loosen the ribbons on her bodice.

Zelda's arms worked up and down his body working on his buttons as Link kept undoing the ribbons securing Zelda's dress, kissing each bit of exposed skin as the dress got looser, taking his cues from Zelda's reactions to his ministrations.

The dress fell and pooled around Zelda's feet and Link took a moment to gaze at Zelda's perfect creamy white skin and supple curves covered only by her underwear and once Zelda thought she'd seen his eyeful she almost tore Links remaining clothes off him and brought him in for another kiss and pulled him onto the bed on top of her, the sight of her beneath him was one of the most beautiful things he'd ever seen and what came next was the greatest pleasure either one of them had ever known.

The two newlyweds woke late the next day and after breakfast, they left and spent a delightful month at a mansion the Hylian Royal family owned far to the north of Hyrule Castle town. Link and Zelda delighted to finally be able to spend as much time alone together as they wished with no expectations or threats hanging over them. Link found it the perfect tonic after what felt like years of toil and was sorry to leave when they came back to the castle.

Link and Zelda fell back into the routine of court life well and as their first project presided over reconstruction efforts all over the Land of Hyrule with work well underway in restoring Kakariko village and the land of Albion, Link doing his utmost to help his wife run the kingdom.

Link woke one morning a few weeks after their return to find Zelda missing and went looking for her only to find her coming out of their bathroom looking slightly ill but with a glow to her face that puzzled him. He spoke softy to her, the concern evident on his face and said,

"Are you alright Zelda, you look ill. Shall I send for the healers?"

Zelda smiled and came close to him, took his hand and placed it on her stomach and whispered.

"well yes and no, I believe the name for this is morning sickness."

Link gasped and grinned broadly before hugging Zelda tightly and kissing her and choking out.

"Oh Zelda my darling that's wonderful, the goddesses have blessed us, a child. The future of the kingdom and so soon."

Zelda beamed and said, "I know, it's a miracle, now we must be ready to guide our Childs path so the Kingdom can truly be assured of its future."

The healers were summoned and quickly confirmed the news to the delight of all and in time Zelda gave birth to a healthy son, Link sat beside his exhausted wife as tears fell from her eyes at the sight of the baby slumbering in her arms.

Link looked from his son to his wife and said, " I only hope we can do the best we can for him, he'll have the hopes and dreams of two Kingdoms on his shoulders before long."

Zelda looked up at him and smiled before replying, "I think we'll survive, most people tend to manage just fine."

Link could only hope she was right when the time came.


	10. Chapter 10

-1After the Twilight Fades

_Authors note: Thank you all for reading and loving this fic, your support helps make my fics better and gives me a reason to keep writing. Sorry about the grammar mistakes in this fic but this is fan fiction and nobodies perfect. I'll go back and adjust what I can in time which should give it a bit more polish. Look out for updates for When Harry met Susan in the near future and hopefully I'll write another Zelda fic after I get a hold of a copy of the new game which is coming out soon._

Epilogue

Together, Link and Zelda reigned over the united Kingdoms of Hyrule and Albion for over three generations, Zelda going down in history as the greatest Queen who ever lived for rebuilding Hyrule and Albion from the ravages of war. Despite Link's fears that he wouldn't be a good enough father his son William and his three daughters Mary, Susan and Beatrix, the royal children grew up into virtuous and proud adults with a perfect mixture of Links courage and Zelda's wisdom and kindness. Zelda abdicated not long after Link and Zelda's youngest grandchild married and the legendary couple retired to Albion living out their lives giving advice to the many people of both noble and common blood who travelled, many from distant lands to seek an audience from them.

The two of them died peacefully within minutes of each other in their sleep one night and Link suddenly found himself standing before an ornate gate of solid gold which marked the entrance to a vast and beautiful city.

Looking at himself, Link realised he had reverted back to his form from the days he had fought the orcs and looked beside him and noticed that Zelda had also reverted to her younger form.

Link looked at Zelda and said to her,

"so what happens now my love, what awaits beyond the gate?"

Zelda smiled and pulled Link close to her and whispered to him,

"I do not know, but we will face it together as we always have done, for better or worse."

Link nodded and took Zelda's hand and led her through the gate where a tall young woman suddenly appeared before them, clad in a long red dress.

The woman spoke to them and said, "greetings to you both, Lysander the hero of Hyrule and Albion and you too Zelda, the redeemer, Queen of destiny. I am Din and I welcome you both, you have both surpassed every expectation I have had and in life forged a legacy which shall linger for all time, step forward and claim your reward."

The goddess of power beckoned the two to follow and Link and Zelda followed her through the streets of the city where many people known to the couple in life strolled amongst the buildings and parks until they reached a palace more ornate that any on earth where two other women waited, presumably Nayru and Farore.

Farore addressed them and said, "in life you both watched over your people and protected them from evil ones. Now we grant you both a special honour, you will become guardian spirits for the realm and will be granted special powers to intervene if evil threatens the world again."

Link and Zelda both gasped, and felt a sudden rush of power as the goddesses touched the pair of them.

Link willed his transformation and instead of changing into a normal sized wolf he became a creature closer in size to a large elephant and looked over and saw Zelda shift from her human form and become a snowy owl, much bigger than any normal bird of the world. With a blinding flash of white light the city disappeared and the two divine animals found themselves deep within Faron woods, and from that moment the pair of them watched over the realms of Hyrule and Albion forever with many people claiming to have received guidance from the pair in dreams and visions over the years, or salvation from monsters after the intervention of a giant wolf.

The end


End file.
